Bacterial Structure Flashcards
What does peptidoglycan consist of?
A repeating disaccharide of NAG and NAM
What is NAG?
A monosaccharide derivative of glucose
An amide between glucosamine and acetic acid
What is NAM?
A monosaccharide derivative of NAM (ether of lactic acid and NAM)
What are NAG and NAM cross-linked with?
Oligopeptides at the lactic acid residue of NAM
How do cross-linking peptides differ between Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria?
MAIN DIFFERENCE: Gram-positive links tetrapeptides with a pentaglycine crosslink and Gram-negative tetrapeptides link directly to other tetrapeptides
Gram-positive = 9-13 aa long
Gram-negative = 8 aa long
What is unique about D isomers and why do bacteria use them in their PG?
They are uncommon in nature and are used by bacteria to avoid protease digestion
Why does gonorrhea have some resistance to antibiotics?
Because they have highly cross-linked PG layers
What is the LPS a major component of and what does it do?
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria
It is important for the structural integrity of the bacteria and protects the membrane from chemical attack
What does the LPS do to the charge of the cell membrane and why does it do that?
It increases the negative charge
Helps stabilize the overall membrane structure
What does LPS associate with and why?
Divalent cations (Mg++) to neutralize charge repulsion
What are the 3 molecular domains of LPS?
Lipid A
The core
The O-antigen
What is the structure of Lipid A and what does it allow?
Phosphorylated glucosamine disaccharide with associated fatty acids
The fatty acids allow bilayer formation and it is antigenic
What is the core made up of and what does it attach to?
The core is made up of mostly sugars (can contain amino acids) and it attaches directly to lipid A
Diverse
What is the O-antigen attached to and what does it determine?
It is attached to the core oligosaccharide and due to it being highly diverse, it often determines strain type
What are the implications of O-antigen being presented on the cell surface?
It is antigenic and therefore the bacteria are always changing it
What are long O-antigens associated with?
Virulence
What does smooth O-antigens make?
A gel and it appears smooth
What are rough O-antigens associated with?
Non-pathogens
What part of lipid A anchors the LPS into the bacterial membrane? Where is the rest of the LPS?
The hydrophobic fatty acid chains anchor LPS into the cell membrane
The rest of the LPS projects from the cell surface
What is the lipid A domain responsible for?
The toxicity of Gram-negative bacteria
When bacterial cells are lysed, what does the release of lipid A into circulation cause?
Fever
Diarrhea
Endotoxic shock (sepsis)
What types of bacterial PAMPs can PRRs detect?
PG
Lipid A
Teichoic acid (links layers of Gram-positive PG)
Capsules
What do TLRs do and where are they expressed?
They recognize PAMPs
They are expressed in all cells of the innate immune system and can be found on the cell surface or inside endosomes
Where are endosomes located?
In between the plasma membrane and Golgi
What does TLR6 recognize?
PG in Gram-positive
Lipoteichoic acid in Gram-positive
Lipoproteins of Gram-negative
What does TLR4 recognize?
LPS in Gram-negative + LPS with co-receptor MD2
What does TLR3 recognize and where is it found?
Detects intracellular and phagocytized pathogens
Found in endosomes
What are NODs and what do they detect?
Nucleotide-binding domain, Leucine-rich repeat-containing receptors
They detect intracellular PAMPs