Weidenmaier Christopher, Peschel Andreas
Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2008 Apr;6(4):276-87. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro1861. Epub 2008 Mar 10.
Most Gram-positive bacteria incorporate membrane- or peptidoglycan-attached carbohydrate-based polymers into their cell envelopes. Such cell-wall glycopolymers (CWGs) often have highly variable structures and have crucial roles in protecting, connecting and controlling the major envelope constituents. Further important roles of CWGs in host-cell adhesion, inflammation and immune activation have also been described in recent years. Identifying and harnessing highly conserved or species-specific structural features of CWGs offers excellent opportunities for developing new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics for use in the fight against severe infectious diseases, such as sepsis, pneumonia, anthrax and tuberculosis.
大多数革兰氏阳性菌将与膜或肽聚糖相连的基于碳水化合物的聚合物纳入其细胞壁。这类细胞壁糖聚合物（CWGs）的结构通常高度可变，在保护、连接和控制主要细胞壁成分方面发挥着关键作用。近年来，还发现了CWGs在宿主细胞黏附、炎症和免疫激活方面的其他重要作用。识别和利用CWGs高度保守或物种特异性的结构特征，为开发用于对抗严重传染病（如败血症、肺炎、炭疽和结核病）的新型抗生素、疫苗和诊断方法提供了绝佳机会。
