In vivo studies on Citrobacter rodentium and host cell death pathways.

• Citrobacter rodentium is a key physiological model for studying A/E pathogenesis. • C. rodentium encodes effectors that subvert host cell death signaling. • C. rodentium modulates apoptosis to block neutrophil and Th17 cell recruitment. • RIPK3-dependent necroptosis limits C. rodentium persistence in host colon. • NLRP3 and NLRC4-mediated secretion of IL-18 impairs C. rodentium colonisation. Citrobacter rodentium is a mouse-specific extracellular enteropathogen, commonly used as a small animal model for studying human enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infections. Both pathogens share a core set of virulence factors, including a type III secretion system, which enables translocation of effector proteins into infected cells to subvert host antimicrobial responses. Notably, these bacterial effectors have been reported to specifically target components of the apoptotic, necroptotic and pyroptotic signaling cascades in vivo , resulting in compromised immune cell recruitment and impaired mucosal homeostasis. Identifying the contributions of each cell death modality to bacterial control in a physiological model represents a crucial step in furthering our understanding of host-pathogen evolution and may provide insight into the host evasion strategies utilised by other enteric pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]