An anaerobic pathogen rewires host metabolism to fuel oxidative growth in the inflamed gut (opens in new tab)

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), a classically anaerobic pathogen, uses its toxin, BFT, to remodel host metabolism and generate a localized oxidative niche in the colon. By shifting epithelial cells toward fermentative metabolism, ETBF increases lactate and oxygen availability, allowing this anaerobe to deploy oxidative metabolism to adapt to and thrive in the inflamed gut.