Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41754428›Full record

ReviewPathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential of Nutritional Immunity.

Charles Egede Ugwu, Olalekan Chris Akinsulie, Toyin Florence Ayandokun, Favour Akinfemi Ajibade, Sammuel Shahzad, Victor Ayodele Aliyu, Moyinoluwa Joshua Oladoye, Ibrahim Idris, Kingsley Ogochukwu Obasi, Joel Kosisochukwu Edeh and 5 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Charles Egede UgwuPaul G. Allen School for Global Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6559-7176
Olalekan Chris AkinsulieDepartment of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6337-3638
Toyin Florence AyandokunDepartment of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
Favour Akinfemi AjibadeDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Sammuel ShahzadDepartment of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3923-8414
Victor Ayodele AliyuSchool of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-2610-4600
Moyinoluwa Joshua OladoyeSchool of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0300-1474
Ibrahim IdrisSchool of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA.
Kingsley Ogochukwu ObasiDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, West Midlands, UK.
Joel Kosisochukwu EdehDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Al-Amin Adebare OlojedeFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200001, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Chizaram Blessing UkauwaFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja, Abuja 902101, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.ORCID 0009-0008-1616-7848
Muhammad Ipoola AdeyemiDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Vestland County, Norway.
Charity Chinonso UgwuFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 420110, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Lilian Chizobam UgorjiDepartment of Microbiology, Imo State University, Owerri 460108, Imo State, Nigeria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nutritional immunity is a major facet of host defense, wherein the host immune system strategically limits pathogen access to critical nutrients, including iron, zinc, vitamins, lipids, and amino acids, to repress microbial proliferation and virulence. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the molecular mechanisms that power nutrient immunity, including metal homeostasis, nutrient competition, transporter modulation, hormonal regulation, and direct antimicrobial actions. We examine nutrient-specific strategies employed by the host, such as iron-withholding mechanisms, vitamin deprivation, and copper-mediated toxicity. We also explore how diverse pathogens, including extracellular, intracellular, and eukaryotic pathogens, adapt to these hostile nutritional landscapes through siderophore diversification, regulatory integration, and metabolic rewiring. Comparative genomic analyses reveal convergent evolution in nutrient acquisition systems, illuminating the dynamic arms race between host restriction and microbial evasion. We examine the immunological mechanisms that regulate nutritional immunity. Further, we discuss the translational potential of nutritional immunity, cutting across nutrient-based therapies, host-directed interventions, and emerging diagnostic biomarkers. Finally, we suggest future directions that synergize nutritional immunity with microbiome ecology, global malnutrition, and personalized medicine. By elucidating the interconnection between metabolism and immunity, this review highlights the therapeutic promise of starving or toxifying the pathogen to save the host.

Indexed as

Host-Pathogen InteractionsNutrientsAnimalsHomeostasisHost-Directed TherapyHumansantimicrobial resistancehost-directed therapeuticshost–pathogen interactionsimmunometabolismmetal sequestrationnutritional immunitypathogen adaptation

Identifiers

PMID41754428
PMCPMC12943674

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.