Fig. 7
From: Immunometabolism in biofilm infection: lessons from cancer
Macrophages and their metabolic changes can change their inflammatory status to a biofilm infection. In planktonic infections, macrophages encounter pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that favor aerobic glycolysis to provide tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates required for proinflammatory effector mechanisms. In contrast, macrophages are polarized towards an anti-inflammatory state in biofilm infections. Although most of the factors involved in this process are unknown, it is predicted that biofilm infections will bias macrophages towards OXPHOS and several receptors such as IL-4R, IL-13R, IL-10R, and CD36 which are associated with anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10 and TGF-β) might be involved. The metabolic gradients of nutrients and oxygen present in the tissue microenvironment also influence macrophages' anti- versus pro-inflammatory states (Yamada and Kielian 2019). G6P, glucose-6-phosphate; IDH, isocitrate dehydrogenase; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; PPP, pentose phosphate pathway; SDH, succinate dehydrogenase