Serine Metabolism Tunes Immune Responses To Promote <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i> Survival upon <i>Edwardsiella tarda</i> Infection
Dai-xiao Yang, Manjun Yang, Yue Yin, Tian-shun Kou, Liao-tian Peng, Zhuang‐Gui Chen, Jun Zheng, Bo Peng
Abstract
Bacterial virulence factors are not the only factors responsible for host death. Overactive immune responses, such as cytokine storm, contribute to tissue injury that results in organ failure and ultimately the death of the host. Despite the recent development of anti-inflammation strategies, the way to tune immune responses to an appropriate level is still lacking. We propose that metabolic modulation is a promising approach in tuning immune responses. We find that the metabolomic shift at as early as 6 h postinfection can be predictive of the consequences of infection. Serine is a crucial biomarker whose administration can promote host survival upon bacterial infection either in a prophylactic or therapeutic way. Further analysis demonstrated that exogenous serine promotes the synthesis of glutathione, which downregulates reactive oxygen species to dampen immune responses. Our study exemplifies that the metabolite(s) is a potential therapeutic reagent for overactive immune response during bacterial infection.