Nonprotein Structures from Mycobacteria: Emerging Actors for Tuberculosis Control
Figure 2
Acylated trehaloses of M. tuberculosis cell walls. Acylated variants of alpha,alpha′-(1→1′)-glucosyl glucose (trehalose) are abundant in mycobacterial envelopes. These are free amphipathic lipids known to display paradoxical immune modulatory activities. For instance, trehalose 6,6′-dimycolate (TDM) presents potent proinflammatory and granulomatogenic properties [24, 25], whereas 2,3-di-O-acyl trehalose (DAT) exhibits down-modulatory effects on immune cells [26, 27].
