AftD, a novel essential arabinofuranosyltransferase from mycobacteria

Lipoarabinomannan and related glycoconjugates: structure, biogenesis and role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis physiology and host-pathogen interaction

Approximately one third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. This bacterium has an unusual lipid-rich cell wall containing a vast repertoire of antigens, providing a hydrophobic impermeable barrier against chemical drugs, thus representing an attractive target for vaccine and drug development. Apart from the mycolyl–arabinogalactan–peptidoglycan complex, mycobacteria possess several immunomodulatory constituents, notably lipomannan and lipoarabinomannan. The availability of whole-genome sequences of M. tuberculosis and related bacilli over the past decade has led to the identification and functional characterization of various enzymes and the potential drug targets involved in the biosynthesis of these glycoconjugates. Both lipomannan and lipoarabinomannan possess highly variable chemical structures, which interact with different receptors of the immune system during host–pathogen interactions, such as Toll-like receptors-2 and C-type lectins. Recently, the availability of mutants defective in the synthesis of these glycoconjugates in mycobacteria and the closely related bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, has paved the way for host–pathogen interaction studies, as well as, providing attenuated strains of mycobacteria for the development of new vaccine candidates. This review provides a comprehensive account of the structure, biosynthesis and immunomodulatory properties of these important glycoconjugates.

Development of a plate-based scintillation proximity assay for the mycobacterial AftB enzyme involved in cell wall arabinan biosynthesis

A number of mycobacterial arabinosyltransferases, such as the Emb proteins, AftA, AftB, AftC, and AftD have been characterized and implicated to be involved in the cell wall arabinan assembly. These arabinosyltransferases are essential for the viability of the organism and are logically valid targets for developing new anti-tuberculosis agents. For instance, Ethambutol, a first line anti-tuberculosis drug, targets the Emb proteins involved in the formation of the arabinan of cell wall arabinogalactan. Among these arabinosyltransferases, the terminal β-(1→2) arabinosyltransferase activity has been associated with AftB. The predicted topology of AftB in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has 10 N terminal transmembrane domains and a C terminal hydrophilic domain similar to the Emb proteins. It has a conserved GT-C motif and is difficult to express. In a cell free assay, synthetic disaccharide, α-D-Araf-(1→5)-α-D-Araf-octyl, has been used as a substrate to explore the function of AftB. In our work, the disaccharide was synthesized in its pentenylated and biotinylated form, and the enzymatic product formed was identified as the β-(1→2) arabinofuranose adduct. When synthetic tri- and tetra-saccharides were used as substrates, a mixture of products containing both β-(1→2) and α-(1→5) linkages were formed. Therefore, the biotinylated disaccharide was selected to develop a scintillation proximity assay.

A deficiency in arabinogalactan biosynthesis affects Corynebacterium glutamicum mycolate outer membrane stability

Corynebacterineae is a specific suborder of Gram-positive bacteria that includes Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium glutamicum. The ultrastructure of the cell envelope is very atypical. It is composed of a heteropolymer of peptidoglycan and arabinogalactan (AG) covalently associated to an outer membrane. Five arabinosyltransferases are involved in the biosynthesis of AG in C. glutamicum. AftB catalyzes the transfer of Araf (arabinofuranosyl) onto the arabinan domain of the arabinogalactan to form terminal beta(1 --> 2)-linked Araf residues. Here we show that Delta aftB cells lack half of the arabinogalactan mycoloylation sites but are still able to assemble an outer membrane. In addition, we show that a Delta aftB mutant grown on a rich medium has a perturbed cell envelope and sheds a significant amount of membrane fragments in the external culture medium. These fragments contain mono- and dimycolate of trehalose and PorA/H, the major porin of C. glutamicum, but lack conventional phospholipids that typify the plasma membrane, suggesting that they are derived from the atypical mycolate outer membrane of the cell envelope. This is the first report of outer membrane destabilization in the Corynebacterineae, and it suggests that a strong interaction between the mycolate outer membrane and the underlying polymer is essential for cell envelope integrity. The presence of outer membrane-derived fragments (OMFs) in the external medium of the Delta aftB mutant is also a very promising tool for outer membrane characterization. Indeed, fingerprint analysis of major OMF-associated proteins has already led to the identification of 3 associated mycoloyltransferases and an unknown protein with a C-terminal hydrophobic anchoring domain reminiscent of that found for the S-layer protein PS2 of C. glutamicum.