Hatzios Lab published in PLoS Pathogens
Oxidative stress produced by microbial infections can damage cellular biomolecules. Host cells mitigate oxidative damage by synthesizing the antioxidant glutathione. However, the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori decreases glutathione levels in gastric cells through an unknown mechanism, making host tissues more vulnerable to harmful oxidants. To monitor glutathione dynamics during infection, we developed an isotope-tracing strategy that can track host-derived glutathione in H. pylori-infected cells by mass spectrometry. We found that H. pylori uses a dedicated enzyme to degrade host glutathione and imports the resulting degradation products. Our findings demonstrate that H. pylori exploits a protective metabolite from the host for nutritional gain during infection.