PROTEIN MISFOLDING IN THE CELL-ENVELOPE OF ESCHERICHIA-COLI - NEW SIGNALING PATHWAYS

Depending on their cellular localization, misfolded proteins in Escher ichia coli trigger two different heat-shock responses. Cytoplasmic pro teins induce the 'classical' heat-shock regulon transcribed by the E s igma(32) polymerase, By contrast, misfolding of proteins in the cell e nvelope induces the newly described E sigma(E)-dependent regulon, This implies that there is an inducible transduction machinery in the inne r membrane. The response to protein misfolding in the cell envelope is a finely tuned system regulated by a cascade of phosphorylation and d ephosphorylation reactions.