What do Lipoteichoic acids do?
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is a surface-associated adhesion amphiphile from Gram-positive bacteria and regulator of autolytic wall enzymes (muramidases). LTA bound to targets can interact with circulating antibodies and activate the complement cascade to induce a passive immune kill phenomenon.
What is teichoic acid production?
A number of Gram-positive bacteria are known to produce wall teichoic acid polymers having complex repeating units containing, for example, mannitol, erythritol, glucose or N-acetylglucosamine; however, a large proportion produce either poly(ribitol-phosphate) or poly(glycerol-phosphate) as the major polymer.
What is the function of teichoic acid and lipoteichoic acid?
Teichoic acids play important physiological roles and contribute to the bacterial interaction with their host. In particular, lipoteichoic acid (LTA) anchored to the cell membrane has attracted attention as a host immunomodulator. Chemical and biological characteristics of LTA from various bacteria have been described.
Where is Lipoteichoic acid found?
Lipoteichoic acids (LTA), polymers of repeating phosphodiester-linked polyols, are found in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane of Gram-positive bacteria.
Is Lipoteichoic acid an exotoxin?
We have recently confirmed that lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a major constituent of the gram-positive bacterial surface, is the endotoxin of gram-positive bacteria that induces proinflammatory molecules in a Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-dependent manner.
Is Lipoteichoic acid a virulence factor?
Lipoteichoic acids as a major virulence factor causing inflammatory responses via Toll-like receptor 2.
What are the types of teichoic acid?
Teichoic acid is comprised of linear, polyol phosphate polymers that exist in one of two forms: wall teichoic acid (WTA) attached to wall peptidoglycan, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) linked to membrane lipids.
What is the main function of teichoic acid?
The main function of teichoic acids is to provide flexibility to the cell-wall by attracting cations such as calcium and potassium. Teichoic acids can be substituted with D-alanine ester residues, or D-glucosamine, giving the molecule zwitterionic properties.
What is Lipoteichoic acid made of?
Lipoteichoic acids (LTA) are polymers of alternating units of a polyhydroxy alkane, including glycerol and ribitol, and phosphoric acid, joined to form phosphodiester units that are found in the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria.
What is the difference between teichoic acid and lipoteichoic acid?
The key difference between wall teichoic acid and lipoteichoic acid is that wall teichoic acids are covalently attached to peptidoglycan while lipoteichoic acids are anchored to the bacterial membrane via a glycolipid. Teichoic acids are cell wall glycopolymers found in Gram-positive bacteria.
Is Lipoteichoic acid an endotoxin?
Is teichoic acid a sugar?
Teichoic acid is an anionic short linear polysaccharide (polyalcohols connected by phosphate ester and sugar) responsible for the negative charges of the cell surface as a whole.
What is the chemical structure of lipoteichoic acid?
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is another typical component of the cell envelope of Gram-positive bacteria. The chemical structure of LTA has been extensively studied by Fischer et al. and others. 78,79 According to them, LTA consists of a glycolipid and a hydrophilic polymer of glycerophosphate covalently bound to the former.
How does lipoteichoic acid affect the cardiovascular system?
Lipoteichoic acid induces a proinflammatory cytokine response, the production of nitric oxide, and may lead to cardiovascular compromise.10 Lipoteichoic acids (LTA) and wall teichoic acids (WTA), together with peptidoglycan, are located under the protection of CPS [14].
How are lipoteichoic acids used in Gram positive bacteria?
Gram-positive bacteria incorporate lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) into their envelope to scavenge magnesium ions, direct autolysins to subcellular cell wall locations, and enable bacterial cell division ( 6, 7 ).
Which is the catalyzed reaction of LTA synthase?
LTA synthesis involves the polymerization of polyglycerol-phosphate and its transfer to Glc 2 -DAG ( 13 ). This reaction is catalyzed by LTA synthase (LtaS), a protein with five transmembrane domains in its N-terminal domain and an extracellular sulfatase-like domain (pfam00884) at the C-terminal end ( 14 ).
