Abstract
alpha-Dystroglycan (alpha-DG) is a component of the dystroglycan complex, which is involved in early development and morphogenesis and in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies. Here, alpha-DG was shown to serve as a Schwann cell receptor for Mycobacterium leprae, the causative organism of leprosy. Mycobacterium leprae specifically bound to alpha-DG only in the presence of the G domain of the alpha2 chain of laminin-2. Native alpha-DG competitively inhibited the laminin-2-mediated M. leprae binding to primary Schwann cells. Thus, M. leprae may use linkage between the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton through laminin-2 and alpha-DG for its interaction with Schwann cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2076-9 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Science (New York, N.Y.) |
| Volume | 282 |
| Issue number | 5396 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Dec 1998 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Animals
- Bacterial Adhesion
- Binding Sites
- Calcium/physiology
- Cell Line, Transformed
- Cells, Cultured
- Cytoskeletal Proteins/metabolism
- Dystroglycans
- Edetic Acid/pharmacology
- Glycosylation
- Humans
- Laminin/chemistry
- Membrane Glycoproteins/metabolism
- Mycobacterium leprae/metabolism
- Peripheral Nerves/chemistry
- Rats
- Receptors, Laminin/metabolism
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/metabolism
- Recombinant Proteins/chemistry
- Schwann Cells/metabolism