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Multifaceted roles of mycobacterium cell envelope glycolipids during host cell membrane interactions
Journal
Biology of Mycobacterial Lipids
Date Issued
2022-01-01
Author(s)
Mishra, Manjari
Kapoor, Shobhna
Abstract
Lipids represent a less explored class of virulence-associated pathogenic molecules in infectious diseases. Lipids are amphipathic molecules that as part of the cell membranes, orchestrate various cellular processes by modulating membrane biophysical properties such as fluidity, stiffness, packing, curvature, and organization. Changes in the aforementioned membrane properties, in turn, alter lipid/protein diffusion, localization, lipid-protein interactions, and finally their activity. Hence, lipids play critical roles in infectious diseases by intervening in cellular signaling, protein trafficking, membrane fusion, and protein functions. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)—the single leading cause of tuberculosis—serves as an epitome of pathogens that use their glycolipids to fine-tune various lipid-dependent interactions with the host cell. The Mtb cell membrane is composed of three layers: inner membrane, arabino-peptidoglycan layer, and outer membrane, and it is the noncovalently attached glycolipids within the outer membrane that are primarily involved in pathogenesis. In this chapter, we give an up-to-date account of recent findings on the biophysical consequences of Mtb lipid-host cell membrane contact, while elucidating the complex cell membrane structure of Mtb, and the specific immunomodulatory properties of distinct Mtb lipids. The presented work showcases how Mtb uses its structurally diverse glycolipids to impact specific host processes including immune modulation during host contact, bestowing the pathogen with a lipid-centric virulence strategy to spatiotemporally regulate host cell interactions by modulating host membrane structure and function.
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