TY - JOUR
T1 - Metabolic changes in glucose transporter-deficient Leishmania mexicana and parasite virulence
AU - Rodríguez-Contreras, Dayana
AU - Landfear, Scott M.
PY - 2006/7/21
Y1 - 2006/7/21
N2 - Leishmania mexicana are parasitic protozoa that express a variety of glycoconjugates that play important roles in their biology as well as the storage carbohydrate β-mannan, which is an essential virulence factor for survival of intracellular amastigote forms in the mammalian host. Glucose transporter null mutants, which are viable as insect form promastigotes but not as amastigotes, do not take up glucose and other hexoses but are still able to synthesize these glycoconjugates and β-mannan, although at reduced levels. Synthesis of these carbohydrate-containing macromolecules could be accounted for by incorporation of non-carbohydrate precursors into carbohydrates by gluconeogenesis. However, the significantly reduced level of the virulence factor β-mannan in the glucose transporter null mutants compared with wild-type parasites may contribute to the non-viability of these null mutants in the disease-causing amastigote stage of the life cycle.
AB - Leishmania mexicana are parasitic protozoa that express a variety of glycoconjugates that play important roles in their biology as well as the storage carbohydrate β-mannan, which is an essential virulence factor for survival of intracellular amastigote forms in the mammalian host. Glucose transporter null mutants, which are viable as insect form promastigotes but not as amastigotes, do not take up glucose and other hexoses but are still able to synthesize these glycoconjugates and β-mannan, although at reduced levels. Synthesis of these carbohydrate-containing macromolecules could be accounted for by incorporation of non-carbohydrate precursors into carbohydrates by gluconeogenesis. However, the significantly reduced level of the virulence factor β-mannan in the glucose transporter null mutants compared with wild-type parasites may contribute to the non-viability of these null mutants in the disease-causing amastigote stage of the life cycle.
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U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M603265200
DO - 10.1074/jbc.M603265200
M3 - Article
C2 - 16707495
AN - SCOPUS:33746000107
SN - 0021-9258
VL - 281
SP - 20068
EP - 20076
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
IS - 29
ER -