Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2010 Feb;13(1):47-52. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Dec 16.
Virulence associated protein type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are intricately structured organic nanosyringes that achieve the translocation of bacterial proteins from the prokaryotic cytoplasm across three membranes into the host cytosol. The substrates for these systems number in the hundreds, with remarkably diverse biological activities, modulating host cell biology for the benefit of the pathogen. Although there has been tremendous progress on the structure and function of the T3SS substrates, there has been comparatively little progress on the much more highly conserved secretion apparatus itself. This review summarizes recent advances in the field of structural microbiology that have begun to address this shortcoming, finally bringing to bear the power of structural biology to this central virulence system of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.
毒力相关蛋白 III 型分泌系统(T3SSs)是一种结构精巧的有机纳米注射器,可将细菌蛋白从原核细胞质穿过三层膜转运到宿主细胞质中。这些系统的底物数以百计,具有显著不同的生物学活性,可调节宿主细胞生物学,使其有利于病原体。尽管在 T3SS 底物的结构和功能方面已经取得了巨大的进展,但在更为高度保守的分泌装置本身方面却相对较少。本综述总结了结构微生物学领域的最新进展,这些进展开始解决这一不足,最终将结构生物学的力量应用于革兰氏阴性细菌病原体的这一主要毒力系统。