Collectin CL-LK Is a Novel Soluble Pattern Recognition Receptor for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

• Main Authors: Anthony Troegeler, Geanncarlo Lugo-Villarino, Søren Hansen, Voahangy Rasolofo, Maiken Lumby Henriksen, Kenichiro Mori, Katsuki Ohtani, Carine Duval, Ingrid Mercier, Alan Bénard, Jérome Nigou, Denis Hudrisier, Nobutaka Wakamiya, Olivier Neyrolles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4501752?pdf=render

Understanding the molecular components of immune recognition of the tuberculosis (TB) bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can help designing novel strategies to combat TB. Here, we identify collectin CL-LK as a novel soluble C-type lectin able to bind M. tuberculosis, and characterize mycobacterial mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan as a primary ligand for CL-LK. Mice deficient in CL-K1, one of the CL-LK subunits, do not display altered susceptibility to M. tuberculosis. However, we found that the amount of CL-LK in the serum of patients with active TB is reduced, compared to that in controls, and correlates inversely to the magnitude of the immune response to the pathogen. These findings indicate that CL-LK might be of interest for future diagnostic and treatment monitoring purposes.