TY - JOUR T1 - Phthiocerol Dimycocerosates of M. tuberculosis Participate in Macrophage Invasion by Inducing Changes in the Organization of Plasma Membrane Lipids A1 - Astarie-Dequeker, Catherine A1 - Le Guyader, Laurent A1 - Malaga, Wladimir A1 - Seaphanh, Fam-Ky A1 - Chalut, Christian A1 - Lopez, André A1 - Guilhot, Christophe Y1 - 2009/02/06 N2 - Author Summary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of human tuberculosis, is an extremely successful human pathogen. The pathogenesis of bacterium is associated with its ability to invade macrophages and to circumvent bactericidal functions of the host cell in order to survive within a protective niche. The cellular mechanisms are largely investigated but the bacterial factors are poorly known. The outermost layer of the mycobacterial cell envelope is particularly of interest because of its localization at the interface with macrophages. An interesting feature of this envelope is its high lipid content. One group of lipids, the phthiocerol dimycocerosates (DIM), has been studied intensively since being shown to promote Mtb virulence. We investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms of DIM and demonstrated that DIM participate in the receptor-dependent phagocytosis of Mtb in human macrophages through a mechanism involving a reorganization of the plasma membrane following recognition of bacilli. This modification of the plasma membrane biophysical properties might help Mtb to create a protective niche by preventing acidification of its phagosome. Our results provide a first hint on the molecular mechanism of action of DIM, a key Mtb lipidic virulence factor. JF - PLOS Pathogens JA - PLOS Pathogens VL - 5 IS - 2 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000289 SP - e1000289 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000289 ER -