An immunomodulatory role for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Acr protein in the formation of the tuberculous granuloma

AbstractThe tuberculous granuloma is a compact aggregate of dormant bacteria encapsulated by host macrophages. It is commonly regarded as a product of the host ‐defense designed to isolate infectious mycobacteria. This work demonstrates that exposure of macrophages to theMtb heat shock protein Acr leads to overproduction of the chemokine CXCL16, allowing the mycobacterium to exploit the innate immune response. This induction of chemokine expression is hypothesized to occur through activation of ADAM proteases, providing an immunomodulatory role forMtb Acr in the formation of the granuloma.
Source: FEBS Letters - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: HYPOTHESIS Source Type: research