Applications of small molecule probes in dissecting mechanisms of bacterial virulence and host responses.
Elucidating the molecular and biochemical details of bacterial infections can be challenging because of the many complex interactions that exist between a pathogen and its host. Consequently, many tools have been developed to aid the study of bacterial pathogenesis. Small molecules are a valuable complement to traditional genetic techniques because they can be used to rapidly perturb genetically intractable systems and to monitor post-translationally regulated processes. Activity-based probes are a subset of small molecules that covalently label an enzyme of interest based on its catalytic mechanism. These tools allow monitoring of enzyme activation within the context of a native biological system and can be used to dissect the biochemical details of enzyme function. This review describes the development and application of activity-based probes for examining aspects of bacterial infection on both sides of the host-pathogen interface.
Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, ‡Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and §Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine , 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, California 94305, United States.
Aaron W
AW
Puri
Matthew
M
Bogyo
D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D014774:Virulence
D001426:Bacterial Proteins