Research progress in the relationship between the mitochondria-associated membranes and pathogen-induced inflammatory response / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs) are highly specialized subcellular regions composed of the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial outer membrane connected by proteins. They participate in several important cell events such as calcium homeostasis maintenance, cell apoptosis, lipid synthesis and utilization, and cell autophagy, and also provide a platform for antiviral signal transduction and Nod-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome assembly. Thus, MAMs play an important role in resisting pathogen infection. However, pathogens have evolved different coping strategies such as targeting MAMs to escape or antagonize host immune response, or regulating the functions of MAMs to facilitate infection. The most common reason of inflammatory response is pathogen infection. The disorder of acute inflammatory response usually leads to a series of chronic inflammatory diseases. This review summarized the relationship between the functions of MAMs and pathogen-induced inflammatory response.