Trojan Horses: Microbes Subvert Mitochondria To Evade The Immune System

Mitochondria are sentinels of the innate immune system, with critical roles in sensing and responding to pathogens. Yet, they are evolved from microbes and retain some features that may make them susceptible to microbial influence. A number of instances have shown that microbes can bypass these sentinels through toxins that alter mitochondrial function, creating a permissive environment. Such subversion of the host cell function, by recruitment of its microbe-like organelles, is likely to be a frequently seen motif amongst the many Trojan horse strategies used by intracellular pathogens infecting immune cells. Here we discuss the recent discovery, that Legionella pneumophila creates a permissive niche in human macrophages, by hijacking mitochondria, and rewiring the cellular metabolism. This is placed in context of the current understanding of this evolving area