title: Copper homeostasis at the host-pathogen interface.
abstract: The trace element copper is indispensable for all aerobic life forms. Its ability to cycle between two oxidation states, Cu(1+) and Cu(2+), has been harnessed by a wide array of metalloenzymes that catalyze electron transfer reactions. The metabolic needs for copper are sustained by a complex series of transporters and carrier proteins that regulate its intracellular accumulation and distribution in both pathogenic microbes and their animal hosts. However, copper is also potentially toxic due in part to its ability to generate reactive oxygen species. Recent studies suggest that the macrophage phagosome accumulates copper during bacterial infection, which may constitute an important mechanism of killing. Bacterial countermeasures include the up-regulation of copper export and detoxification genes during infection, which studies suggest are important determinants of virulence. In this minireview, we summarize recent developments that suggest an emerging role for copper as an unexpected component in determining the outcome of host-pathogen interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hodgkinson
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Petris
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D000073840:Copper-Transporting ATPases; D006706:Homeostasis; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000378:metabolism; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000378:metabolism; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000737:chemistry; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014131:Trace Elements; D003300:Copper; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C081184:ATP7A protein, human; D000073840:Copper-Transporting ATPases; D010100:Oxygen