articleThe Journal of Experimental MedicineDec 14, 2009BRONZE OA

Direct recognition of the mycobacterial glycolipid, trehalose dimycolate, by C-type lectin Mincle

Kyushu University · Center of Molecular Immunology (Cuba) · +4 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Tuberculosis remains a fatal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which contains various unique components that affect the host immune system. Trehalose-6,6'-dimycolate (TDM; also called cord factor) is a mycobacterial cell wall glycolipid that is the most studied immunostimulatory component of M. tuberculosis. Despite five decades of research on TDM, its host receptor has not been clearly identified. Here, we demonstrate that macrophage inducible C-type lectin (Mincle) is an essential receptor for TDM. Heat-killed mycobacteria activated Mincle-expressing cells, but the activity was lost upon delipidation of the bacteria; analysis of the lipid extracts identified TDM as a Mincle ligand. TDM activated…

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