Modulation of riboflavin biosynthesis enzymes in non-typhoidal Salmonella isolates differentially impacts human MAIT cell activation.

RibH and RibE knockdowns in Salmonella ST313 isolate D23580 versus Salmonella Typhimurium 4/74 differentially modulate MAIT cell activation in human PBMCs.

• Why it matters: ST313 iNTS isolates in sub-Saharan Africa evade MAIT activation, but the metabolic mechanism linking bacterial riboflavin pathway enzymes to host MAIT responses is unclear.
• What they did: Human PBMCs were profiled by comparative transcriptomics after infection, and an inducible CRISPRi system targeted riboflavin biosynthesis enzymes (rib) in D23580 and 4/74, including RibH and RibE.
• The result: RibH knockdown restored MAIT activation in D23580 but not 4/74, while RibE knockdown reduced MAIT activation by 4/74 but not D23580; metabolomics showed DMRL accumulation and strain-specific end-product shifts.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.