Molecular characterization of a group of proteins containing ankyrin repeats in Orientia tsutsugamushi.
Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligate intracellular bacterium, is the causative agent of scrub typhus. The sequencing and analysis of full genomic DNA of O. tsutsugamushi has revealed at least 19 genes thus far encoding proteins with different numbers of ankyrin repeat domains. We have cloned several genes containing ankyrin repeats from the genome and produced fusion proteins to characterize their functions in host cells. It is likely that the proteins with ankyrin repeat domains expressed in O. tsutsugamushi-infected cells may control the synthesis or stability of host proteins to modulate the various cellular functions after infection. The exploitation of host factors by ankyrin repeat proteins of O. tsutsugamushi may also play a critical role in its pathogenesis.
Cho
Nam-Hyuk
NH
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Republic of Korea. chonh@snu.ac.kr
Kim
Jo-Min
JM
Kwon
Eun-Kyung
EK
Kim
Se-Yoon
SY
Han
Seung-Hoon
SH
Chu
Hyuk
H
Lee
Jung-Hee
JH
Choi
Myung-Sik
MS
Kim
Ik-Sang
IS
D017089:Ankyrin Repeat / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins