Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS), BP 64182, F-31077 Toulouse, France.
Trends Microbiol. 2012 Mar;20(3):106-12. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2012.01.005. Epub 2012 Feb 2.
Iron, zinc and copper, among others, are transition metals with multiple biological roles that make them essential elements for life. Beyond the strict requirement of transition metals by the vertebrate immune system for its proper functioning, novel mechanisms involving direct metal intoxication of microorganisms are starting to be unveiled as important components of the immune system, in particular against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In parallel, metal detoxification systems in bacteria have been recently characterized as crucial microbial virulence determinants. Here, we will focus on these exciting advancements implicating copper- and zinc-mediated microbial poisoning as a novel innate immune mechanism against microbial pathogens, shedding light on an emerging field in the metallobiology of host-pathogen interactions.
铁、锌和铜等都是过渡金属，具有多种生物学功能，是生命所必需的元素。除了脊椎动物免疫系统对过渡金属的严格需求外，新的机制开始揭示涉及微生物直接金属中毒的机制是免疫系统的重要组成部分，特别是针对结核分枝杆菌。与此同时，细菌中的金属解毒系统最近被确定为关键的微生物毒力决定因素。在这里，我们将重点介绍这些令人兴奋的进展，这些进展表明铜和锌介导的微生物中毒是一种针对微生物病原体的新的先天免疫机制，为宿主-病原体相互作用的金属生物学这一新兴领域提供了启示。
