Bacteria-derived nutrient recycling: How phagocytosed bacteria regulate macrophage metabolism

Macrophages are responsible for sensing, phagocytosing, and destroying bacteria, yet the metabolic fate of these internalized microbes remains largely unexplored. A recent study published by Lesbats et al. in Nature¹ uncovers how macrophages recycle some of the components from phagolysosomal degradation, using them as intermediates in various anabolic pathways and as fuel for oxidative phosphorylation.