Endoplasmic Reticulum contact sites facilitate the coordinated division of Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV)
Salmonella Typhimurium (STM) resides in a membrane-bound compartment called Salmonella Containing Vacuole (SCV) in several infected cell types. Within host cells, the division of bacteria and SCV are synchronous to maintain the single bacterium per vacuole. However, the mechanism regulating the synchronous fission and the machinery is not well understood. The fission of several intracellular organelles is regulated by the dynamic nature of the tubular endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In this study, we have evaluated the role of ER in controlling SCV fission. Interestingly, Salmonella-infected cells show the activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) with expanded ER tubules compared to the uninfected cells. Further, changing the ratio/expression of ER morphology regulators, such as reticulon-4a (Rtn4a) and CLIMP63, affected bacterial proliferation significantly, suggesting a potential role for tubular ER in facilitating the SCV division. Live-cell imaging analysis shows the marking of tu