Cell Host & Microbe

New issue day! Our March issue is live. Highlights include · Virome regulates nutrient absorption · Intratumoral bacteria drive HCC · Microbiome as signature of health · Bacteria protect from fungal pathogens cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Weekend read: Microbiota & heart failure in CKD E. coli-derived indoxyl sulfate promotes heart failure progression in chronic kidney disease via AHR-CYP1B1. Targeting microbiota-indoxyl sulfate pathway offers therapeutic potential cell.com/cell-host-micr…

VIBRANT: Phase 1 trial of multi-strain L. crispatus for BV Women w/bacterial vaginosis receiving multi-strain vaginal L. crispatus live biotherapeutic 3–7 days post antibiotics showed vaginal colonization up to 12 wks, reducing risk of recurrent BV cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Gut phage ACRs Type II CRISPR-Cas systems dominate human gut w/diverse phage Acrs targeting these systems. Widespread family, GutAcraca, adopts similar structures to inhibit Cas9 & regulate its own expression, highlighting phage adaptation to gut ecology cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Metabolic flexibility allows neutrophils to fight Candida In response to C. albicans glucose consumption, neutrophils upregulate PYGL-mediated glycogenolysis through a dectin-1/PKA axis, thus sustaining antifungal function in glucose-deprived tissues cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Weekend read: Born to rewild Review exploring how rewilding plant microbiomes—by restoring ancestral plant-microbe interactions and revitalizing soil functions—could provide a roadmap for engineering crops more resilient to climate challenges. cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Featured Article: Shaping plant growth-defense trade-offs Plant immunity represses growth via PTBP3-dependent degradation of pyrimidine-rich, Y-motif growth mRNAs. Antagonism of pathway enhances disease resistance & growth resilience under immune stress cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Bacterial entrapment protects plants from fungi Diverse bacteria trap fungal carbon repressor CreA in nucleus, suppressing pathogenesis-related gene expression. Consortium of CreA-targeting bacteria confers broad-spectrum resistance in field trials cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Profiling subgingival bacteria Single-cell transcriptional atlas of subgingival bacteria reveals hallmarks of health vs periodontitis. Periodontitis yields loss of health-assoc subpopulations & species-specific amino acid-related transcriptional programs cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Influenza virus hitches a cellular ride to the heart Preview of @ImmunityCP paper demonstrating that pro-DC3 cells ferry influenza virus to the heart, infecting cardiomyocytes and triggering damage via type I interferon signaling cell.com/cell-host-micr…

How does the gut microbiome impact stress? New findings in @cellhostmicrobe show gut bacteria-produced imidazole propionate can enter the bloodstream & modulate brain activity and stress-related behaviors: tinyurl.com/mzy6n6st

Early registration discount ends today (13 March)! Register now for @CellPressEvents #CSMicrobiome2026 (10–12 May 2026, Bruges) and save on your place. Join leading experts exploring host–microbiome interactions and therapeutic innovation. hubs.li/Q046vVtK0

A sweet side to fusobacteria Preview of work reexamining fusobacteria’s effects on CRC outcomes, finding that F nucleatum may not always be bad for patients; host’s immunogenetics influence whether Fn is a harmful or helpful oncomicrobe in CRC cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Microbiota+host genotype impact CRC Intratumoral bacteria differentially promote neutrophil recruitment in CRC. F. nucleatum elicits neutrophil cytotoxicity via Siglec-14 but not w/Siglec-14 null variant.Neutrophils+Fn load+Siglec-14 exp predict survival cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Featured Article: Microbiome signature of health Global analysis of 11,000 microbiomes reveals uncultured bacteria as markers of gut health. Uncultured genus CAG-170 linked to low dysbiosis & vitamin B12 production & plays ecological roles in healthy gut cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Age-related tradeoffs:When protection becomes pathology Preview of @Nature work revealing cardiac Foxo1-Trim63 protects young mice from polymicrobial sepsis but drives mortality in aged hosts, showing how early-life tolerance compromises late-life survival cell.com/cell-host-micr…

A sticky situation: E. bolteae adhesion fuels liver cancer Preview of work showing that liver bacteria Enterocloster bolteae can translocate & directly colonize tumors via a bacterium-host adhesion PbpT-DSG1-MAPK axis to drive tumor progression cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Intratumoral E. bolteae promotes HCC Enterocloster bolteae translocates to liver tumors, where its PbpT protein subverts tumor suppressor DSG1 to activate oncogenic MAPK signaling, promoting HCC progression. Abs targeting PbpT suppress tumors in mice cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Nutrient absorption goes viral Preview of work demonstrating that the enteric virome autonomously regulates carbohydrate metabolism through dual signaling, with the net metabolic outcome determined by adaptive immune surveillance cell.com/cell-host-micr…

Virome regulates nutrient sensing Enteric virome, dominated by bacteriophages, can autonomously activate host immune signaling to modulate intestinal metabolic responses and regulate carbohydrate digestion & absorption cell.com/cell-host-micr…

FMT for NSCLC FMT improves anti-PD-1 efficacy & survival in advanced PD-L1-negative NSCLC. Analysis of trial+diverse disease cohorts via high-resolution strain-tracking framework reveals intra-species dynamics drive FMT efficacy & predictive score cell.com/cell-host-micr…