Disruption of the mycobacterial cell entry gene of Mycobacterium bovis BCG results in a mutant that exhibits a reduced invasiveness for epithelial cells
Open Access
- 15 August 1999
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in FEMS Microbiology Letters
- Vol. 177 (2) , 237-242
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-1097(99)00301-8
Abstract
Mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex have the ability to invade and replicate in non-phagocytic cells, an event that requires the presence of bacterial surface components capable of triggering a cell response and the subsequent internalization of the microorganism. In this study, we report the sequencing of the mycobacterial cell entry gene (mce) of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and the generation and characterization of a mutant BCG strain with an inactivated mce gene, by homologous recombination with double cross-over. This mutant strain does not express the mycobacterial cell entry protein (Mce) and exhibits a reduced ability to invade the non-phagocytic epithelial cell line HeLa as compared to wild-type BCG.Keywords
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