Specialized contact sites regulate the fusion of chlamydial inclusion membranes.

ABSTRACT: The intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis replicates within a membrane-bound compartment called the inclusion. Upon infection with several chlamydiae, each bacterium creates its own inclusion, resulting in multiple inclusions within each host cell. Ultimately, these inclusions fuse together in a process that requires the chlamydial protein IncA. Here, we show that inclusions form unique contact sites (inclusion contact sites, ICSs) prior to fusion, that serve as fusogenic platforms in which specific lipids and chlamydial proteins concentrate. Fusion depends on IncA clustering within ICSs and is regulated by PI(3,4)P₂ and sphingolipids. As IncA concentrates within ICSs, its C-terminus likely interacts in trans with IncA on the apposing membrane, securing a high c

SUBMITTER: Linton C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11513123 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature