细菌半乳糖代谢通路及对细菌毒力的影响研究进展

Research progress in bacterial galactose metabolic pathway and its impacts on bacterial virulence

摘要:

半乳糖是自然界中广泛存在的一种单糖，不仅能作为碳源参与生物能量代谢，还能作为生物合成前体参与生物各类生理反应。在真核细胞中，半乳糖或相关衍生物能作为信号分子参与细胞间通讯。近期的研究发现，半乳糖能调控细菌内信号传导影响细菌毒力，半乳糖因此被认为是细菌致病过程中低估的重要环境调控因子，但具体调控机制还未被充分揭示。本文结合最新研究数据，对细菌半乳糖代谢通路以及半乳糖代谢在细菌毒力、细菌-宿主互作等方面发挥的生物学功能进行综述，并对半乳糖代谢途径中关键蛋白(酶)作为开发新型疫苗潜在靶点进行讨论，为深入理解细菌致病机制和挖掘新型抗菌策略的相关研究提供新的思路和参考借鉴。

Abstract:

Galactose is a ubiquitous monosaccharide in nature, serving not only as a primary carbon source for bioenergy metabolism but also as a precursor for various biological synthesis reactions. In eukaryotic cells, galactose or its derivatives can act as signaling molecules to participate in intercellular communication. Recent studies have revealed that galactose can modulate bacterial virulence by regulating intracellular signal transduction. Accordingly, galactose is considered an underappreciated environmental regulator in bacterial infection. However, the specific regulatory mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. This review integrates the latest research findings to summarize the bacterial galactose metabolic pathway, the biological implications of galactose metabolism in bacterial virulence and interactions with hosts, and the key proteins (enzymes) in the galactose metabolism pathway as potential targets for developing novel vaccines. It offers new insights and reference for comprehending bacterial infection mechanisms and exploring innovative antibacterial strategies.