Partners in Crime: Phenolic Glycolipids and Macrophages.

Two recent articles advance our understanding of mycobacterial pathogenesis, revealing key roles for bacterially derived phenolic glycolipids (PGLs). In leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae PGL-1 uniquely subverts local macrophages to produce neurotoxic nitric oxide (NO), leading to nerve demyelination. In a related model, Mycobacterium marinum PGL stimulates the recruitment of growth-conducive monocytes to sites of initial infection as an early immune evasion strategy.