TB Research

From adhesion to invasion: the multifaceted roles oflipoproteins.

Min Li, Qiao Zhang, Yun Wang, Jianping Xie, Tian Liang, Zhou Liu, Xiaohong Xiang, Qiang Zhou, et al. (9 authors)

Journal of drug targeting · 2025-08

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by, which poses a significant threat to human health. Lipoproteins are predominantly found in thecell wall during infection of the invading host. The cell wall interacts closely with the host cell in direct contact. Thegenome encodes at least 99 lipoproteins with diverse functions, including ABC transport, cell wall metabolism, adhesion, cell invasion, and signal transduction, among others. Different lipoproteins play important roles in bacterial survival, infection of host cells, vaccine development, and gene regulation for drug targeting. Although only a subset of these lipoproteins has been functionally investigated, most of them require further study. This review summarises the progress of research related to the synthesis oflipoproteins and their involvement in the functions of material transport, immune response, virulence mechanism, vaccine development, signalling, enzyme, and drug regulation.

MeSH terms

  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Humans
  • Lipoproteins
  • Tuberculosis
  • Bacterial Adhesion
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cell Wall
  • Animals
  • Virulence