title: Nucleoside diphosphate kinase: role in bacterial growth, virulence, cell signalling and polysaccharide synthesis.
abstract: Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk) is an important enzyme that generates nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) or their deoxy derivatives by terminal phosphotransfer from an NTP such as ATP or GTP to any nucleoside diphosphate or its deoxy derivative. As NTPs, particularly GTP, are important for cellular macromolecular synthesis and signalling mechanisms, Ndk plays an important role in bacterial growth, signal transduction and pathogenicity. Specific examples of the role of Ndk in regulating growth, NTP formation and cell surface polysaccharide synthesis in two respiratory tract pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago 60612-7344, USA. Ananda.Chakrabarty@uic.edu
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chakrabarty
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000378:metabolism; D006159:Guanosine Tetraphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011122:Polyphosphates; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D011122:Polyphosphates; D011134:Polysaccharides; D006159:Guanosine Tetraphosphate; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D009701:Nucleoside-Diphosphate Kinase