To subvert host defense, they beat it at its own game: they hijack host pathways by mimicking the binding surfaces of host-encoded proteins.
The outcome can be dire: rewiring or repurposing the host pathways, shifting the cell signaling landscape and consequently the immune response.
Moreover, novel insights into specific host pathways that control lipid accumulation during infection, such as the PPARγ and LXR transcriptional regulators, have begun to reveal mechanisms by which host immunity alters the bacterial micro-environment.
Based on the limitations associated with targeting virally-encoded molecules, we have taken an orthogonal approach of targeting host pathways in a manner that prevents viral propagation or spares the host from virus-mediated pathogenicity.
Newly discovered host pathways involved in the innate response to RSV, together with the potential generation of DVG-derived oligonucleotides, present various novel opportunities for the design of vaccine adjuvants able to induce a protective response against RSV and similar viruses.
Recent advances in manipulating cofactors include culture conditions or additive alterations, genetic modification of host pathways for increased availability of desired cofactor, changes in enzyme cofactor specificity, and introduction of novel redox partners to form effective circuits for biochemical processes and biocatalysts.
Investigations into malaria pathogenesis have implicated host pathways in disease progression.
Furthermore, we identified combinations of biomarkers from these two host pathways that accurately predicted mortality among children with severe malaria.
Functionally, such conserved modules reveal commonalities between how the different pathogens interact with crucial host pathways involved in inflammation and immunity.
It may eventually be possible to exploit these quantitative differences in host pathways activated by H5N1 for therapeutic purposes through the use of the appropriate inhibitors.
It is now well known that pathogens can remodel and subvert host pathways to facilitate their own survival at the expense of the host [3].
