Cell envelope polysaccharide modifications alter the surface properties and interactions of <i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i> with innate immune cells in a morphotype-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium abscessus is one of the leading causes of pulmonary infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria. The ability of M. abscessus to establish a chronic infection in the lung relies on a series of adaptive mutations impacting, in part, global regulators and cell envelope biosynthetic enzymes. One of the genes under strong evolutionary pressure during host adaptation is ubiA, which participates in the elaboration of the arabinan domains of two major cell envelope polysaccharides: arabinogalactan (AG) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM). We here show that patient-derived UbiA mutations not only cause alterations in the AG, LAM, and mycolic acid contents of M. abscessus but also tend to render the bacterium more prone to forming biofilms while evading uptake

SUBMITTER: Lian E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11980365 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature