VacJ

VacJ is required for the intercellular spreading of Shigella flexneri. It is attached to the outer membrane by a lipid anchor [1].

Lipoproteins in Gram-negative microbes also act as structural stabilisers, forming non-covalent bonds with peptidoglycan on the outer membrane of the cell PUBMED:7542800. Following completion of the genomes of several Gram-negative prokaryotes, a putative lipoprotein, VacJ, has been discovered in the raw sequence open reading frames. Biochemical analysis of the Shigella flexneri VacJ protein revealed it to be essential for virulence, promoting spread of bacterial cells through the intercellular space of tissues PUBMED:8145644.

Upon expression in the facultative intracellular microbe, host cells form membranous protrusions containing the pathogen, allowing it to move to the cytoplasm of the next target cell. As homologues of this lipoprotein have largely been found in obligate or facultative intracellular microbial genomes, it appears to be specific for that particular lifestyle PUBMED:8145644.

Alignment

Visualize domain structures

Species distribution