Identifying cell features targeted by Salmonella with quantitative image analysis and modeling

Host cell heterogeneity is a common feature in vitro and in vivo. Genetically identical cells present different behaviors and morphologies. This biological phenomenon could explain why some cells are more targeted by pathogens than others. However, the investigation of host cell heterogeneity has remained highly challenging.

During my PhD in the Enninga Lab at Institut Pasteur (Paris), I established a high-throughput/high-content analytical pipeline to provide quantitative information on epithelial host cell vulnerability to Salmonella infection. Using a mathematical modeling approach, our analysis distinguishes between the intrinsic cell vulnerability involving inherent host cell attributes and the vulnerability induced by bacterial uptake. We identified local cell crowding and cholesterol content as key features to predict Salmonella infection efficiency. We also published a ready-to-use step-by-step protocol of our analytic pipeline.

Associated publications:

• Voznica J, Enninga J, Stévenin V. 2018. High-throughput microscopic analysis of Salmonella invasion of host cells. Bio-protocol. 20(18):e3017. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3017. (.pdf)

• Voznica J, Gardella C, Belotserkovsky I, Dufour A, Enninga J, and Stévenin V. 2018. Identifying parameters of host cell vulnerability during Salmonella infection by quantitative image analysis and modeling. Infection and Immunity. 86(1):e00644-17. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00644-17 (.pdf)