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Review

Enterococcal Cell Wall Components and Structures

Lynn E. Hancock  1 , Barbara E. Murray, Jouko Sillanpää
Michael S Gilmore, Don B Clewell, Yasuyoshi Ike, Nathan Shankar
, editors.
In: Enterococci: From Commensals to Leading Causes of Drug Resistant Infection [Internet]. Boston: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; 2014.
.
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Review

Enterococcal Cell Wall Components and Structures

Lynn E. Hancock et al.
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Excerpt

The last decade has seen an explosion in the literature relevant to enterococcal cell wall structures and their underlying genetics. We now know the genetic basis for capsule typing in E. faecalis. The capsule structure for the most prevalent pathogenic lineage of E. faecalis has been solved (CPSC or Maekawa type 2). Recent NMR analysis has also solved the wall teichoic acid structure for both E. faecium and E. faecalis isolates. Unique pilin loci have been described and characterized. The complete genome sequence of E. faecium has led to the discovery of a variable capsule locus, which suggests rich antigenic diversity in this emerging nosocomial pathogen. Interest in the importance of lipoproteins to enterococcal biology is also emerging. The next decade promises to be just as exciting as the last, as investigators unravel more detail about the cell wall architecture of this collective group of superbugs. Such discoveries will hopefully lead to advances in the treatment of multi-drug resistant infections.

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