The term "cellular microbiology" was coined by the authors of the book of the same title published in 1996. Cooperation and mutual dependency between microbiology and cell biology had been increasing in the years before that, and the emergence of a new discipline had been suggested and discussed in several scientific conferences. Cellular microbiology attempts to use pathogenic microorganisms as tools for cell-biology research, and to employ cell-biology methods to understand the pathogenicity of microorganisms. Toxins and virulence factors from microbes have been used for decades to influence processes in eukaryotic cells and to study them. It has increasingly appeared that applying a purified toxin on a cell does not always provide the complete picture, and that understanding the role of the toxin in pathogenicity, the way the toxin promotes the microbe, the way the toxin is produced and the co-evolution of the toxin and its host-cell counterparts, is crucial.

We found that the bacilli in alveolar macrophages exhibited lower stress and higher replication indicators than those in the recruited, blood monocyte-derived macrophages. Moreover, depletion of alveolar macrophage population reduced the bacterial burden 10-fold, whilst depletion of the recruited monocyte-derived macrophages increased the bacterial load 10-fold. Transcriptional profiling indicated that the alveolar macrophages were up-regulated for OXPHOS and fatty acid oxidation, while the recruited macrophages were committed to glycolysis. In experimental infections of macrophages in vitro we found that inhibition of glycolysis with 2-deoxyglucose enhanced bacterial growth, while inhibition of fatty acid oxidation with Etomoxir suppressed bacterial growth, further reinforcing this link between host and pathogen metabolism. Cellular Microbiology The course covers topics related to pathogenesis of infectious diseases in the context of host cell properties. It introduces various human pathogens and describes their virulence, and explores the evolutionary aspects of how pathogens interact with their host cells and how host cells defend themselves against invading microorganisms. Topics include bacterial toxins and secretion mechanisms, virus infections, microbial invasion and intracellular parasitism, manipulation of host cell functions and induction of cell death by pathogens, innate and acquired defense mechanisms of the host, inflammation, sepsis, and advances of microbial genomics involving human micro biome, vaccines, and anti-infectives. The course aims to complement the scientific knowledge and principles established in cell biology, medical microbiology, and immunology with appropriate relevance to clinical applications involving parasitology and infectious disease control.

Microbiology has perhaps been influenced most of all. Our understandings of microbial diversity and evolutionary biology, and of how pathogenic bacteria and viruses interact with their animal and plant hosts at the molecular level, for example, have been revolutionized. Perhaps the most exciting recent advance in microbiology has been the development of the interface discipline of cellular microbiology, a fusion of classic microbiology, microbial molecular biology and eukaryotic cellular and molecular biology. Cellular microbiology is revealing how pathogenic bacteria interact with host cells in what is turning out to be a complex evolutionary battle of competing gene products. Molecular and cellular biology are no longer discrete subject areas but vital tools and an integrated part of current microbiological research.

With kind regards,

Amelia Johnson

Managing Editor

Single cell biology