Mycolic acids and lipids from the Cell Envelope of Mycobacterium bovis strains isolated from Zacatecas, Zac. Mexico: A first report
Gloria G Guerrero M*
Unidad Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas “Francisco García Salinas”, Av. Preparatoria S/N. Col Agronómicas, Zacatecas, Zac, Mexico
*Corresponding Author: Gloria G Guerrero M, Unidad Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas “Francisco García Salinas”, Av. Preparatoria S/N. Col Agronómicas, Zacatecas, Zac, Mexico.
Received:
October 15, 2025; Published: October 28, 2025
Abstract
Pathogenic mycobacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) complex are the causative agents of human tuberculosis. Current reports following the COVID-19 pandemic continue to show that pathogenic mycobacteria represent a public health problem that is worsen by the increasing multidrug-resistant (MDR), and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains, the co-morbidities, and by the lack of long-term memory of the current and officially licensed vaccine, BCG. Approximately 1.7 million deaths annually and morbitidy of 10.6 million, remaining with a latent infection, and only 5% developing active disease. Molecular diagnostics based on real-time PCR, whole genome sequencing (WGS), and single cell multi-omics are contributing to the determination of biomarkers of disease of the course and progression of the infection disease. On specifically referring to the virulence factors, several studies have shown that cell wall lipids of pathogenic mycobacteria are recognized by innate immune cells, leading to an effective connection with the adaptive immune system, in particular, B and T lymphocytes. In previous work, we isolated Mycobacterium bovis from the nostrils of cattle in the region of Zacatecas, Mexico. From the data, we found subtle differences especially in the type of mycolic acids between the Mycobacterium bovis (Mb) isolates versus pathogenic H37 Rv and Mb Bacillus Calmette Güerin (BCG). A more detailed analysis of the natural variation in the composition of the cell envelope of different geographical mycobacterial isolates for the improvement of tuberculosis diagnosis in combination with serological and molecular techniques..
Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb); Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS); Mycolic Acids
References
- World Health Organization. “Global Tuberculosis Report 2023”. World Health Organization (2023).
- “Global tuberculosis report 2023”. Geneva: World Health Organization: (2023).
- Behr MA., et al. “Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection life long?” BMJ 367 (2019): 15770.
- O'Garra A., et al. “The immune response in tuberculosis”. Annual Review of Immunology 31 (2013): 475-527.
- da Costa AC., et al. “Recombinant BCG: innovations on an old vaccine. Scope of BCG strains and strategies to improve long-lasting memory”. Frontiers in Immunology 5 (2014): 152.
- Zumla A and Maeurer M. “Host-Directed therapies for tackling multi-drug resistant tuberculosis: learning from the Pasteur-Bechamp debates”. Clinical Infectious Disease 61 (2015): 1432-1438.
- Udwada ZF., et al. “Totally drug-resistant tuberculosis in India”. Clinical Infectious Disease 54 (2012): 579-581.
- Adams O., et al. “Cryo-EM structure and resistance landscape of M. landscape of M. tuberculosis MmpL3: an emergent target”. Structure 29 (2021): 1182-1191 e4.
- Daneshvar P., et al. “COVID-19 and tuberculosis coinfection: An overview of case reports/case series and meta- analysis of prevalence studies”. Heliyon 9 (2023): e13637.
- Booysen P., et al. “Immune interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Frontiers in Immunology 14 (2023): 1254206.
- Casanova JL and Abel L. “From rare disorders of immunity to common determinants of infection: Following the mechanistic thread”. Cell 185 (2022): 3086-3103.
- Laval T., et al. “Not too fat to fight: The emerging role of macrophage fatty acid metabolism in immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Immunology Review 301 (2021): 84-97.
- Chandra P., et al. “Immune evasion and provocation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Nature Reviews Microbiology 11 (2022): 750-767.
- Ortalo-Magne A., et al. “Identification of the surface-exposed lipids on the cell envelopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other mycobacterial species”. Journal of Bacteriology 178 (1996): 456-461.
- Chiaradia L., et al. “Dissecting the mycobacterial cell envelope and defining the composition of the native mycomembrane”. Scientific Report 7 (2017): 12807-12825.
- Dulberger ChL., et al. “The mycobacterial cell envelope — a moving target”. Nature Reviews Microbiology 8 (2020): 47-59.
- Wang S., et al. “Arabinosyl transferase C mediates multiple drugs intrinsic resistance by altering cell envelope permeability in Mycobacterium abscessus”. Microbiology Spectrum 10 (2022): e0276321.
- Yang X., et al. “Structural basis for the inhibition of mycobacterial MmpL3 by NTD-949 and SPIRO”. Journal of Molecular Biology 432 (2020): 4426-4424.
- Chalut C. “MmpL transporter-mediated export of cell-wall associated lipids and siderophores in mycobacteria”. Tuberculosis (Edinb) (2016): 32-45.
- Jankute M., et al. “Assembly of the Mycobacterial Cell Wall”. Annual Review of Microbiology 69 (2015): 405-423.
- Bhat ZS., et al. “Cell wall: A versatile fountain of drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Biomed Pharmacotherapy 95 (2017): 1520-1534.
- Llorens-Fons M., et al. “Trehahalose polyphleates, external cell Wall lipids in Mycobacterium abscessus, are associated with the formation of clumps with cording morphology, which have been associated with virulence”. Frontiers in Microbiology 8 (2017): 1402-1417.
- Singh P., et al. “Cell envelope lipids in the pathophysiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Future Microbiology 13 (2018): 689-710.
- Holzheimer M., et al. “Chemical Synthesis of Cell Wall Constituents of Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Chemical Reviews 121 (2021): 9554-9643.
- Van Schie L., et al. “Exploration of Synergistic Action of Cell Wall-Degrading Enzymes against Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Antimicrobe Agents Chemotherapy 65 (2021): e0065921.
- Christensen H., et al. “Lipid domains of mycobacteria studied with fluorescent molecular probes”. Molecular Microbiology 31 (1999): 1561-1572.
- Burbaud S., et al. “Trehalose polyphleates are produced by a glycolipid biosynthetic pathway conserved across phylogenetically distant mycobacteria”. Cell Chemical Biology 23 (2016): 278-
- Daffé, et al. “Genetics of capsular polysaccharides and cell envelope (Glyco) lipids”. Microbiology Spectrum 2 (2014): 14.
- Daffé M and Marrakchi H. “Unraveling the structure of the mycobacterial nvelope”. Microbiology Spectrum 7 (2014): 7-
- Schami A., et al. “Drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: cell envelope profiles and interactions with the host”. Frontiers in Microbiology 13 (2023): 1274175.
- Madacki J., et al. “Impact of the epoxide hydrolase EphD on the metabolism of mycolic acids in mycobacteria”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 293 (2018): 5172-5184.
- Purwantini E and Mukhopadhyay. “Rv132c of Mycobacterium tuberculosis encodes a coenzyme F420-dependent hydroxymycolic acid dehydrogenase”. PLOS ONE 8 (2013): e81985.
- Brennan PJ. “Structure, function, and biogenesis of the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Tuberculosis /Edinb 83 (2003): 91-97.
- Takayama K., et al. “Pathway to synthesis and processing of mycolic acids in Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Clinical Microbiology Review 18 (2005): 81-101.
- Yagi T., et al. “Polymerization of mycobacterial arabinogalactan and ligation to peptidoglycan”. Journal of Biological Chemistry 278 (2003): 26497-26504.
- Minnikin DE., et al. “Mycolic acids patterns of some species of Mycobacterium”. Archives of Microbiology 139 (1984): 225-231.
- Dubnau E., et al. “Oxygenated mycolic acids are necessary for virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice”. Molecular Microbiology 36 (2000): 630-637.
- Gorocica P., et al. “Structural components of the envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that intervene in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis”. INER 18 (2005): 1-15.
- Vander Becken S., et al. “Molecular structure of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence factor, mycolic acid, determines the elicited inflammatory pattern”. European Journal of Immunology 41 (2011): 450-460.
- Beukes M., et al. “Structure-function relationships of the antigenicity of mycolic acids in tuberculosis patients”. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 163 (2010): 800-808.
- Rao V., et al. “Transcyclopropanation of mycolic acids on trehalose dimycolate suppresses Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced inflammation and virulence”. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 116 (2010): 1660-1667.
- Yuan Y and Barty CE. “A common mechanism for the biosynthesis of methoxy and cyclopropyl mycolic acids in Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. PNAS 93 (1996): 12828-12833.
- Zhang W., et al. “Genome sequencing and analysis of BCG strains”. PLOS One 8 (2013): e71243.
- Lu Y., et al. “Deletion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cyp138 gene leads to changes in membrane-related lipid composition and antibiotic susceptibility”. Frontiers in Microbiology 15 (2024): 1301204.
- Fisher JF and Mobashery S. “Constructing and deconstructing the bacterial cell wall”. Protein Science 29 (2020): 629-646.
- Witwinowski J., et al. “An ancient divide in outer membrane tethering systems in bacteria suggests a mechanism for the diderm-to-monoderm transition”. Nature Microbiology 7 (2022): 411-422.
- Léonard RR., et al. “Was the Last Bacterial Common Ancestor a Monoderm after All?” Genes (Basel) 13 (2022): 376.
- Berry PRM., et al. “An interferon-inducible neutrophil-driven blood transcriptional signature in human tuberculosis”. Letter to Nature 466 (2010): 973-977.
- Mayorquín LAG., et al. “A study of the global in vivo gene expression profile in cattle from Mexico”. Current Analytical Biotechnology (2018).
- Guerrero GG. “Omics technologies. A hope for translational research in bovine tuberculosis”. The Journal of Infectious Diseases 7 (2019): 2.
- Sánchez-Garza JJ., et al. “Direct DNA Modified CTAB preparation from nasal exudate in live M. bovis infected cattle in Mexico, provide with a valuable assay extrapolated to Human TB diagnostic test”. Journal of Tropical Disease 7 (2019): 325-343.
- Favela-Hernández JM., et al. “Evaluation of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from cattle in Mexico for serum reactivity and antigen production kinetics”. Journal of Medical Microbiology & Diagnosis (2019).
- Guerrero GG., et al. “Clinical, and Diagnostic characteristics of an unsuspected course of urinary Tuberculosis: A Brief Report”. ASMI 5 (2022): 1-8.
- Pirson Ch., et al. “Differential effects of Mycobacterium bovis-derived polar and apolar lipid fractions on bovine innate immune cells”. Veterinary Research 43 (2012): 54-65.
- Minnikin DE., et al. “Thin-layer chromatography of methanolysates of mycolic acid containing bacteria”. Journal of Chromatography 188 (1980): 221-233.
- Onwueme K C., et al. “The dimycocerosate ester polyketide virulence factors of mycobacteria”. Progress in Lipid Research 44 (2005): 259-302.
- Maurya RK., et al. “Triacylglycerols: Fuelling the Hibernating Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 8 (2018): 450.
- Skerry C., et al. “TLR2 modulating lipoproteins of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex enhance the HIV infectivity of CD4+T cells.” PLoS ONE 11 (2016): e0147192.
- Ortega Ugalde S., et al. “Function, essentiality, and expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes and their cognate redox partners in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: are they drug targets?” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 103 (2019): 3597-3614.
Citation
Copyright