TY - JOUR
T1 - Making the cut
T2 - Central roles of intramembrane proteolysis in pathogenic microorganisms
AU - Urban, Sinisa
N1 - Funding Information:
I apologize to those scientists whose work could not be discussed or cited owing to space limitations. I thank R. Baker for expert help with the illustrations. Work in the Urban laboratory is supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01AI066025, a career award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and a Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Proteolysis in cellular membranes to liberate effector domains from their transmembrane anchors is a well-studied regulatory mechanism in animal biology and disease. By contrast, the function of intramembrane proteases in unicellular organisms has received little attention. Recent progress has now established that intramembrane proteases execute pivotal roles in a range of pathogens, from regulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis envelope composition, cholera toxin production, bacterial adherence and conjugation, to malaria parasite invasion, fungal virulence, immune evasion by parasitic amoebae and hepatitis C virus assembly. These advances raise the exciting possibility that intramembrane proteases may serve as targets for combating a wide range of infectious diseases. This Review focuses on summarizing the advances, evaluating the limitations and highlighting the promise of this newly emerging field.
AB - Proteolysis in cellular membranes to liberate effector domains from their transmembrane anchors is a well-studied regulatory mechanism in animal biology and disease. By contrast, the function of intramembrane proteases in unicellular organisms has received little attention. Recent progress has now established that intramembrane proteases execute pivotal roles in a range of pathogens, from regulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis envelope composition, cholera toxin production, bacterial adherence and conjugation, to malaria parasite invasion, fungal virulence, immune evasion by parasitic amoebae and hepatitis C virus assembly. These advances raise the exciting possibility that intramembrane proteases may serve as targets for combating a wide range of infectious diseases. This Review focuses on summarizing the advances, evaluating the limitations and highlighting the promise of this newly emerging field.
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U2 - 10.1038/nrmicro2130
DO - 10.1038/nrmicro2130
M3 - Review article
C2 - 19421188
AN - SCOPUS:67349117281
SN - 1740-1526
VL - 7
SP - 411
EP - 423
JO - Nature Reviews Microbiology
JF - Nature Reviews Microbiology
IS - 6
ER -