Host membranes provide hidden gateways for 'accidental pathogens'.

Host membranes facilitate bacterial adhesion and entry through intrinsic properties like deformation, curvature sensing, receptor enrichment, and membrane reservoirs.

• Why it matters: Understanding how host membrane features support bacterial invasion is crucial because many infections result from accidental interactions rather than microbial adaptation, highlighting gaps in knowledge about host-pathogen dynamics.
• What they did: The authors review how host plasma membrane properties—deformation, curvature sensing, receptor enrichment, and membrane reservoirs—are involved in bacterial adhesion and entry processes.
• The result: This insight emphasizes the role of host membrane characteristics in infection, potentially guiding new strategies to prevent or disrupt bacterial invasion.