Disruption of the mycobacterial cell entry gene of Mycobacterium bovis BCG results in a mutant that exhibits a reduced invasiveness for epithelial cells

Mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex have the ability to invade and replicate in non-phagocytic cells, an event that requires the presence of bacterial surface components capable of triggering a cell response and the subsequent internalization of the microorganism. In thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFEMS microbiology letters Vol. 177; no. 2; pp. 237 - 242
Main Authors Flesselles, Bruno, Anand, Naveen N, Remani, Jack, Loosmore, Sheena M, Klein, Michel H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 15.08.1999
Subjects
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Cell invasion
Homologous recombination
Cell invasion
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Homologous recombination
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Summary:Mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex have the ability to invade and replicate in non-phagocytic cells, an event that requires the presence of bacterial surface components capable of triggering a cell response and the subsequent internalization of the microorganism. In this study, we report the sequencing of the mycobacterial cell entry gene ( mce) of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and the generation and characterization of a mutant BCG strain with an inactivated mce gene, by homologous recombination with double cross-over. This mutant strain does not express the mycobacterial cell entry protein (Mce) and exhibits a reduced ability to invade the non-phagocytic epithelial cell line HeLa as compared to wild-type BCG.
ISSN:0378-1097
1574-6968
DOI:10.1016/S0378-1097(99)00301-8