glycosylation
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCharacterization of Posttranslationally Modified Multidrug Efflux Pumps Reveals an Unexpected Link between Glycosylation and Antimicrobial Resistance
Nearly all bacterial species have at least a single glycosylation system, but the direct effects of these posttranslational protein modifications are unresolved. Glycoproteome-wide analysis of several bacterial pathogens has revealed general glycan modifications of virulence factors and protein assemblies. Using Campylobacter jejuni as a model organism, we have...
- Minireview | Host-Microbe BiologyDefensive Properties of Mucin Glycoproteins during Respiratory Infections—Relevance for SARS-CoV-2
Mucus plays a pivotal role in protecting the respiratory tract against microbial infections. It acts as a primary contact site to entrap microbes and facilitates their removal from the respiratory tract via the coordinated beating of motile cilia. The major components of airway mucus are heavily O-glycosylated mucin glycoproteins, divided into gel-forming mucins and transmembrane mucins. The gel-forming mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMARCH8 Inhibits Ebola Virus Glycoprotein, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope Glycoprotein, and Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 Hemagglutinin Maturation
Enveloped viruses express three classes of fusion proteins that are required for their entry into host cells via mediating virus and cell membrane fusion. Class I fusion proteins are produced from influenza viruses, retroviruses, Ebola viruses, and coronaviruses. They are first synthesized as a type I transmembrane polypeptide precursor that is subsequently glycosylated and oligomerized. Most of these precursors are cleaved en route...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySpecies-Specific Recognition of Sulfolobales Mediated by UV-Inducible Pili and S-Layer Glycosylation Patterns
Type IV pili can be found on the cell surface of many archaea and bacteria where they play important roles in different processes. The UV-inducible pili system of Sulfolobales (Ups) pili from the crenarchaeal Sulfolobales species are essential in establishing species-specific mating partners, thereby assisting in genome stability. With this work, we show that different Sulfolobus species have specific regions...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lectin LecB Causes Integrin Internalization and Inhibits Epithelial Wound Healing
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium that is one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections. P. aeruginosa is able to switch between planktonic, intracellular, and biofilm-based lifestyles, which allows it to evade the immune system as well as antibiotic treatment....
- Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionRepurposed Drugs That Block the Gonococcus-Complement Receptor 3 Interaction Can Prevent and Cure Gonococcal Infection of Primary Human Cervical Epithelial Cells
Novel therapies that avert the problem of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with acquired antibiotic resistance are urgently needed. Gonococcal infection of the human cervix is initiated by an interaction between a galactose modification made to its surface appendages, pili, and the I-domain region of (host) complement receptor 3 (CR3). By targeting this crucial gonococcal–I-...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyLangerhans Cells Sense Staphylococcus aureus Wall Teichoic Acid through Langerin To Induce Inflammatory Responses
The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of skin infections and is also associated with the occurrence and severity of eczema. Langerhans cells (LCs), a specific subset of skin immune cells, participate in the immune response to S. aureus, but it is yet unclear how LCs recognize...
- Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyQuantitative Analyses Reveal Novel Roles for N-Glycosylation in a Major Enteric Bacterial Pathogen
Advances in genomics and mass spectrometry have revealed several types of glycosylation systems in bacteria. However, why bacterial proteins are modified remains poorly defined. Here, we investigated the role of general N-linked glycosylation in a major food poisoning bacterium, Campylobacter jejuni. The aim of this study is to delineate the direct and...
- Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHuman Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin Glycan Evolution Follows a Temporal Pattern to a Glycan Limit
Frequent mutation of its major antibody target, the glycoprotein hemagglutinin, ensures that the influenza virus is perennially both a rapidly emerging virus and a major threat to public health. One type of mutation escapes immunity by adding a glycan onto an area of hemagglutinin that many antibodies recognize. This study revealed that these glycan changes follow a simple temporal pattern. Every 5 to 7 years, hemagglutinin adds a new...