title: The chlamydial protease CPAF: important or not, important for what?
abstract: The protease CPAF is only found in Chlamydiales and in at least most bacteria that share with Chlamydia the biphasic life-style in a cytosolic inclusion. CPAF is intriguing: it appears to be secreted from the inclusion across the inclusion membrane into the cytosol. A bacterial protease ravaging in the cytosol of a human cell may cause a plethora of effects. Curiously, very few are known. The current discussion is bogged down by a focus on experimental artifact, while proposed functions of CPAF remain speculative. I here make the attempt to summarize what we know about CPAF.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Hermann Herder-Str. 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. Electronic address: georg.haecker@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Häcker
mesh_terms: D002695:Chlamydiales / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D003600:Cytosol / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000382:microbiology*; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D021381:Protein Transport
chemical_list: D010447:Peptide Hydrolases
keywords: CPAF; Chlamydia; Proteolysis