Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Microb Pathog. 2010 Dec;49(6):311-4. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2010.07.004. Epub 2010 Jul 16.
Tuberculosis remains a serious threat to global public health. As one of the most successful pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an adept in evasion the host immune response. M. tuberculosis PE_PGRS family has been widely proposed as molecular mantra to deflect host immunity. The feature of this family is the conserved N-terminal and variable C-terminal. PE_PGRS proteins, with functions largely unknown, are only found among mycobacteria and located in the mycobacterial cell wall and cell membrane. Most PE_PGRS proteins have antigenicity. Polymorphic PGRS domain might play a role in neutralize immune response. Several members of PE_PGRS family have been heterologously expressed for further function characterization. PE_PGRS gene expressing stage-specifically, especially during M. tuberculosis persistence, is promising intervention target to prevent reactivation. The origin, physiological role and spatiotemporal regulation feature of this family remain elusive. The understanding of these questions will shed light on the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis and facilitate the discovery of new effective antibacterial intervention.
结核病仍然是全球公共卫生的严重威胁。作为最成功的病原体之一，结核分枝杆菌擅长逃避宿主免疫反应。结核分枝杆菌 PE_PGRS 家族被广泛认为是抵御宿主免疫的分子秘诀。这个家族的特点是保守的 N 端和可变的 C 端。PE_PGRS 蛋白的功能尚不清楚，只在分枝杆菌中发现，位于分枝杆菌的细胞壁和细胞膜中。大多数 PE_PGRS 蛋白具有抗原性。多态性 PGRS 结构域可能在中和免疫反应中发挥作用。PE_PGRS 家族的几个成员已经被异源表达以进一步进行功能特征分析。PE_PGRS 基因具有特异性表达，特别是在结核分枝杆菌持续存在期间，是预防再激活的有希望的干预靶点。这个家族的起源、生理作用和时空调节特征仍然难以捉摸。对这些问题的理解将有助于阐明结核分枝杆菌的发病机制，并促进新的有效抗菌干预措施的发现。
