We have isolated and purified to homogeneity an alpha,alpha'-trehalose 6-monomycolate:alpha,alpha'-trehalose mycolyltransferase (trehalose mycolyltransferase) from Mycobacterium smegmatis that catalyzes the exchange of a mycolyl group between trehalose, trehalose 6-monomycolate (TM), and trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate (TD). This enzyme was prominent in M. smegmatis and it catalyzed the following rea...

The Ag85 family enzymes are responsible for the synthesis of cell wall components in mycobacterial species. Inhibitors to these enzymes are potential antimycobacterial agents. We have carried out the docking of phoshonate and trehalose analog inhibitors into the three dimensional structure of mycolyltransferase enzyme, Ag85C of M. tuberculosis using the GOLD software. The inhibitor binding posi...

BACKGROUND A better understanding of the quality of cellular immune responses directed against molecularly defined targets will guide the development of TB diagnostics and identification of molecularly defined, clinically relevant M.tb vaccine candidates. METHODS Recombinant proteins (n = 8) and peptide pools (n = 14) from M. tuberculosis (M.tb) targets were used to compare cellular immune re...

Bacteria coordinate assembly of the cell wall as well as synthesis of cellular components depending on the growth state. The mycobacterial cell wall is dominated by mycolic acids covalently linked to sugars, such as trehalose and arabinose, and is critical for pathogenesis of mycobacteria. Transfer of mycolic acids to sugars is necessary for cell wall biogenesis and is mediated by mycolyltransf...

Discovery of novel drug against tuberculosis is inevitable since resistant bacterial strains are evolved existing drugs and rapidly active single in short period necessary for effective treatment. When compared to synthetic drugs, natural particularly phytochemicals induce less side effects long term stability. In Indian traditional medicine, several plant species have been used treating each c...