Biomaterial Database

[Chemical structure of mycobacterial cell wall]. 1978

J F Petit

The immunostimulant properties of mycobacterial cell walls have led to a thorough study of their structure and to isolation of their components. The backbone of the mycobacterial cell wall is of a covalent structure ("covalent skeleton") made up of two polymers covalently linked by phosphodiester linkages: a arabinogalactan mycolate and a peptidoglycan. To this covalent structure are attached, in a rather ill defined manner, proteins or lipoproteins and, in pathogenic and most vaccinating strains, a partly amidated poly-alpha-L-glutamic acid. The mycobacterial cell wall also contains about 25% of free lipids, i.e. lipids which can be extracted by neutral solvents.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008055	Lipids	A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Lipid
D008074	Lipoproteins	Lipid-protein complexes involved in the transportation and metabolism of lipids in the body. They are spherical particles consisting of a hydrophobic core of TRIGLYCERIDES and CHOLESTEROL ESTERS surrounded by a layer of hydrophilic free CHOLESTEROL; PHOSPHOLIPIDS; and APOLIPOPROTEINS. Lipoproteins are classified by their varying buoyant density and sizes.	Circulating Lipoproteins,Lipoprotein,Lipoproteins, Circulating
D009161	Mycobacterium	A genus of gram-positive, aerobic bacteria. Most species are free-living in soil and water, but the major habitat for some is the diseased tissue of warm-blooded hosts.	Mycobacteria
D009171	Mycolic Acids	Long fatty acids found in the CELL WALLS of some ACTINOBACTERIA, including MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS.	Mycolic Acid,Acid, Mycolic,Acids, Mycolic
D010457	Peptidoglycan	A structural polymer of the bacterial cell envelope consisting of sugars and amino acids which is responsible for both shape determination and cellular integrity under osmotic stress in virtually all bacteria.	Murein,Pseudomurein
D002473	Cell Wall	The outermost layer of a cell in most PLANTS; BACTERIA; FUNGI; and ALGAE. The cell wall is usually a rigid structure that lies external to the CELL MEMBRANE, and provides a protective barrier against physical or chemical agents.	Cell Walls,Wall, Cell,Walls, Cell
D002621	Chemistry	A basic science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter; and the reactions that occur between substances and the associated energy exchange.
D000596	Amino Acids	Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-NH2) and a carboxyl (-COOH) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerized to form proteins.	Amino Acid,Acid, Amino,Acids, Amino
D001426	Bacterial Proteins	Proteins found in any species of bacterium.	Bacterial Gene Products,Bacterial Gene Proteins,Gene Products, Bacterial,Bacterial Gene Product,Bacterial Gene Protein,Bacterial Protein,Gene Product, Bacterial,Gene Protein, Bacterial,Gene Proteins, Bacterial,Protein, Bacterial,Proteins, Bacterial
D013045	Species Specificity	The restriction of a characteristic behavior, anatomical structure or physical system, such as immune response; metabolic response, or gene or gene variant to the members of one species. It refers to that property which differentiates one species from another but it is also used for phylogenetic levels higher or lower than the species.	Species Specificities,Specificities, Species,Specificity, Species