Brennan Michael J, Delogu Giovanni
Laboratory of Mycobacterial Diseases and Cellular Immunology, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Building 29 Room 502, 29 Lincoln Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Trends Microbiol. 2002 May;10(5):246-9. doi: 10.1016/s0966-842x(02)02335-1.
The PE multigene family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is remarkable in that it is composed of approximately 100 highly homologous genes that are found only in mycobacteria. Early evidence suggests that proteins encoded by certain members of this gene family could be present in the mycobacterial cell wall, impact antigen-presentation pathways and the ensuing host immune responses, and also provide a mechanism for generating antigenic diversity in mycobacteria.
结核分枝杆菌的PE多基因家族很显著，因为它由大约100个高度同源的基因组成，这些基因仅在分枝杆菌中发现。早期证据表明，该基因家族某些成员编码的蛋白质可能存在于分枝杆菌细胞壁中，影响抗原呈递途径及随后的宿主免疫反应，还为分枝杆菌产生抗原多样性提供了一种机制。
