As long-lived post-mitotic cells, neurons employ unique strategies to resist pathogen infection while preserving cellular function. Here, using a murine model of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, we identified an innate immune pathway that restricts ZIKV replication in neurons and is required for survival upon ZIKV infection of the central nervous system (CNS). We found that neuronal ZIKV infection activated the nucleotide sensor ZBP1 and the kinases RIPK1 and RIPK3, core components of virus-induced necroptotic cell death signaling. However, activation of this pathway in ZIKV-infected neurons did not induce cell death. Rather, RIPK signaling restricted viral replication by altering cellular metabolism via upregulation of the enzyme IRG1 and production of the metabolite itaconate. Itaconate inhibited the activity of succinate dehydrogenase, generating a metabolic state in neurons that suppresses replication of viral genomes. These findings demonstrate an immunometabolic mechanism of viral restriction during neuroinvasive infection.

Many invasive bacteria establish pathogen-containing vacuoles (PVs) as intracellular niches for microbial growth. Immunity to these infections is dependent on the ability of host cells to recognize PVs as targets for host defense. The delivery of several host defense proteins to PVs is controlled by IFN-inducible guanylate binding proteins (GBPs), which themselves dock to PVs through poorly characterized mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that GBPs detect the presence of bacterial protein secretion systems as “patterns of pathogenesis” associated with PVs. We report that the delivery of GBP2 to Legionella-containing vacuoles is dependent on the bacterial Dot/Icm secretion system, whereas the delivery of GBP2 to Yersinia-containing vacuoles (YCVs) requires hypersecretion of Yersinia translocon proteins. We show that the presence of bacterial secretion systems directs cytosolic carbohydrate-binding protein Galectin-3 to PVs and that the delivery of GBP1 and GBP2 to Legionella-containing vacuoles or YCVs is substantially diminished in Galectin-3–deficient cells. Our results illustrate that insertion of bacterial secretion systems into PV membranes stimulates Galectin-3–dependent recruitment of antimicrobial GBPs to PVs as part of a coordinated host defense program.

The life of an organism requires the assistance of an unlikely process: programmed cell death. Indeed, both development and the maintenance of homeostasis results in the production of superfluous cells, that must eventually be disposed of. Furthermore, programmed cell death can also represent a defense mechanism, for example by depriving pathogens of a replication niche. The responsibility of handling these dead cells falls on phagocytes of the immune system, who surveil their surroundings for dying or dead cells and efficiently clear them in a quiescent manner. This process, termed efferocytosis, depends on cooperation between both the phagocyte and the dying cell. In this review, we explore different types of programmed cell death and their impact on innate immune responses.