HupB, a nucleoid-associated protein, is critical for survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis under host-mediated stresses and for enhanced tolerance to key first-line antibiotics.

ABSTRACT: To survive and establish its niche, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) engages in a steady battle against an array of host defenses and a barrage of antibiotics. Here, we demonstrate that Mtb employs HupB, a nucleoid-associated protein (NAP) as its key player to simultaneously battle and survive in these two stress-inducing fronts. Typically, NAPs are key to bacterial survival under a wide array of environmental or host-mediated stresses. Here, we report that for Mtb to survive under different macrophage-induced assaults including acidic pH, nutrient depletion, oxidative and nitrosative stresses, HupB presence is critical. As expected, the hupB knockout mutant is highly sensitive to these host-mediated stresses. Furthermore, Mtb aptly modulates HupB protein levels to overcome t

SUBMITTER: Singh N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9441915 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature