Disease relevance of tolC

• In this study, we characterized two genes in the F. tularensis genome, tolC and a gene we term ftlC, whose products have high homology with the Escherichia coli TolC protein [1].
• However, deletion of tolC, but not ftlC, caused a significant attenuation of virulence in a mouse model of tularemia that could be complemented by addition of tolC in trans [1].

High impact information on tolC

• Thus, tolC is a critical virulence factor of F. tularensis in addition to its role in multidrug resistance, which suggests the presence of a functional type I secretion system [1].
• Neither tolC nor ftlC was required for replication of the live vaccine strain in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages [1].
• BepC fully complemented the resistance to drugs such as chloramphenicol and acriflavine but was incapable of restoring hemolysin secretion in the tolC mutant of E. coli [2].
• In contrast, introduction of a mutant tolC gene did not complement the TolC deficiency and the frequency of MNNG-induced mutations remained high [3].

Chemical compound and disease context of tolC

• When the wild-type E. coli tolC gene was introduced into a strain lacking the gene, TolC function was restored and the frequency of induction by MNNG became similar to that of the wild-type [3].

References