Iron piracy: acquisition of transferrin-bound iron by bacterial pathogens |
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Authors: | Cynthia Nau Cornelissen P Frederick Sparling |
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Institution: | Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. |
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Abstract: | The mechanism of iron utilization from transferrin has been most extensively characterized in the pathogenic Neisseria species and Haemophilus species. Two transferrin-binding proteins, Tbp1 and Tbp2, have been identified in these pathogens and are thought to be components of the transferrin receptor. Tbp1 appears to be an integral, TonB-dependent outer membrane protein while Tbp2, a lipoprotein, may be peripherally associated with the outer membrane. The relative contribution of each of these proteins to transferrin binding and utilization is discussed and a model of iron uptake from transferrin is presented. Sequence comparisons of the genes encoding neisserial transferrin-binding proteins suggest that they are probably under positive selection for variation and may have resulted from inter-species genetic exchange. |
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