The tiny power plants inside your cells also pull double duty as prison guards, helping to trap and cage invading bacteria.
April 10, 2026
Original Paper
APEX2 Screen Reveals Prohibitin 1 as Regulator of Septin-mediated Immunity
SSRN · 6531524
The Takeaway
Mitochondria are well known for providing energy, but new research shows they also control the cellular machinery needed to physically imprison pathogens like Shigella. Without specific mitochondrial proteins, the cell loses its ability to build the molecular 'cages' that stop infections from spreading.
From the abstract
Septins are highly conserved cytoskeletal proteins having a central role in cell-autonomous immunity by entrapping intracellular pathogens, such as Shigella, within cage-like structures. Mitochondria protect against intracellular pathogens and control the Shigella-septin interface, yet the role of mitochondria in septin cage entrapment was unknown. Here, we apply a spatial proteomics approach to capture septin-proximal proteins using APEX2-based proximity labelling of SEPT6. Mass spectrometry re