Stealth proteins: in silico identification of a novel protein family rendering bacterial pathogens invisible to host immune defense.

ABSTRACT: There are a variety of bacterial defense strategies to survive in a hostile environment. Generation of extracellular polysaccharides has proved to be a simple but effective strategy against the host's innate immune system. A comparative genomics approach led us to identify a new protein family termed Stealth, most likely involved in the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharides. This protein family is characterized by a series of domains conserved across phylogeny from bacteria to eukaryotes. In bacteria, Stealth (previously characterized as SacB, XcbA, or WefC) is encoded by subsets of strains mainly colonizing multicellular organisms, with evidence for a protective effect against the host innate immune defense. More specifically, integrating all the available information about Stealth p

SUBMITTER: Sperisen P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1285062 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature