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MINI REVIEW article
Front. Tuberc
Sec. Pathogen and Host Biology of Tuberculosis
Volume 2 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/ftubr.2024.1458105
This article is part of the Research Topic Rising Stars in Tuberculosis and Mycobacterial Diseases: 2023 View all 3 articles
Mycobacterium's "Personal Protective Equipment": the role of PE/PPE proteins in protecting against host defenses
Provisionally accepted- Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, United States
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the deadliest bacterial infection worldwide, but many molecular details of how it interacts with the innate immune system remain obscure. In particular, although Mtb secretes a large number of putative effector proteins, a relatively small number have assigned functions in facilitating host-pathogen interactions. One particularly large family of secreted mycobacterial proteins that remains poorly understood is the PE/PPE proteins. Despite numerous lines of evidence for potential roles in virulence and in mediating host-pathogen interactions, only a small fraction of these 170+ proteins have been well characterized. However, this large family of proteins is likely key for understanding how Mtb subverts immune responses, manipulates host cell biology, and establishes a successful infection. Here, we highlight examples of PE/PPEs that have well defined roles on cell intrinsic pathways in macrophages during mycobacterial infection. Examples include PPE2, which blunts production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide; PE_PGRS33, which facilitates bacterial uptake; PE_PGRS29, which directly binds ubiquitin to promotes host autophagy to limit pathologic inflammation; MirA, which facilitates actin tail formation to promote cell-to-cell spread; and others. Understanding the full spectrum of PE/PPE functions is critical for understanding Mtb pathogenesis and for developing new strategies to combat the worldwide TB pandemic. Advancing the lagging research efforts characterizing this mysterious family of effector proteins is critical for the TB field.
Keywords: Secreted effectors, Bacterial Pathogenesis, Virulence Factors, Macrophages, Tuberculosis
Received: 01 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Resstel, Madduri and Bell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Samantha L. Bell, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, United States
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