title: The chaperone-usher pathway of bacterial adhesin biogenesis -- from molecular mechanism to strategies of anti-bacterial prevention and modern vaccine design.
abstract: The chaperone-usher system determines the biogenesis of surface-exposed adhesive structures responsible for virulence of many Gram-negative bacteria. Investigations of the last 20 years have resolved the mechanism of this pathway on a structural level for different species of pathogenic bacteria. The purpose of this review is to present the molecular mechanisms of the biogenesis of adhesive structures assembled via the chaperone-usher pathway. The obtained mechanistic data allow one to propose potential strategies of anti-bacterial action. Additionally, the specific properties of the polymeric adhesive structures (pili and fimbriae) of the chaperone-usher system allow their use as effective and safe recombinant vaccines carrying foreign epitopes in thousands of copies on bacterial cell surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piatek
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zalewska
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bury
authors.forename: Józef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kur
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D015195:Drug Design; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D000939:Epitopes; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins