Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor Dichloroacetate augments autophagy mediated constraining the replication of Mycobacteroides massiliense in macrophages

Increasing evidence indicates a strong interaction between cellular metabolism and innate macrophage immunity. Here, we show that the intracellular replication of Mycobacteroides massiliense in macrophages depends on host pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) activity. Infection with M. massiliense induced a metabolic switch in macrophages by increasing glycolysis and decreasing oxidative phosphorylation. Treatment with dichloroacetate (DCA), a PDK inhibitor, converts this switch in M. massiliense-infected macrophages and restricts intracellular bacterial replication. Mechanistically, DCA resulted in AMPKα1 activation via increased AMP/ATP ratio, consequently inducing autophagy to constrain bacterial proliferation in the phagolysosome. This study suggests that the pharmacological inhibition of PDK could be a strategy for host-directed therapy to control virulent M. massiliense infections.