Role of the Mce1 transporter in the lipid homeostasis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Summary Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of mortality throughout the world. Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the causative agent of human tuberculosis, has developed several strategies involving proteins and other compounds known collectively as virulence factors to subvert human host defences...

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Published in:Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2014-03, Vol.94 (2), p.170-177
Main Authors: Forrellad, Marina Andrea, McNeil, Michael, Santangelo, María de la Paz, Blanco, Federico Carlos, García, Elizabeth, Klepp, Laura Inés, Huff, Jason, Niederweis, Michael, Jackson, Mary, Bigi, Fabiana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antigens, Bacterial - metabolism
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Proteins - metabolism
Female
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Homeostasis
Humans
Hydrolases - genetics
Hydrolases - metabolism
Infectious Disease
Lipid Metabolism
Male
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycolic Acids - metabolism
Operon - genetics
Pulmonary/Respiratory
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Tuberculosis - metabolism
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Summary:Summary Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of mortality throughout the world. Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the causative agent of human tuberculosis, has developed several strategies involving proteins and other compounds known collectively as virulence factors to subvert human host defences and invade the human host. The Mce proteins are among these virulence-related proteins and are encoded by the mce1 , mce2 , mce3 and mce4 operons in the genome of M. tuberculosis . It has been proposed that these operons encode ABC-like lipid transporters; however, the nature of their substrates has only been revealed in the case of the Mce4 proteins. Here we found that the knockout of the mce1 operon alters the lipid profile of M. tuberculosis H37Rv and the uptake of palmitic acid. Thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the mce1 mutant accumulates more mycolic acids than the wild type and complemented strains. Interestingly, this accumulation of mycolic acid is exacerbated when bacteria are cultured in the presence of palmitic acid or arachidonic acid. These results suggest that the mce1 operon may serve as a mycolic acid re-importer.
ISSN:1472-9792
1873-281X
DOI:10.1016/j.tube.2013.12.005