title: Messenger functions of the bacterial cell wall-derived muropeptides.
abstract: Bacterial muropeptides are soluble peptidoglycan structures central to recycling of the bacterial cell wall and messengers in diverse cell signaling events. Bacteria sense muropeptides as signals that antibiotics targeting cell-wall biosynthesis are present, and eukaryotes detect muropeptides during the innate immune response to bacterial infection. This review summarizes the roles of bacterial muropeptides as messengers, with a special emphasis on bacterial muropeptide structures and the relationship of structure to the biochemical events that the muropeptides elicit. Muropeptide sensing and recycling in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are discussed, followed by muropeptide sensing by eukaryotes as a crucial event in the innate immune response of insects (via peptidoglycan-recognition proteins) and mammals (through Nod-like receptors) to bacterial invasion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Boudreau
authors.forename: Jed F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Shahriar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mobashery
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan; C118897:peptidoglycan recognition protein