Figure 8

MAP expresses mammalian cell entry genes to import host lipids in co-cultured MAC-T cells. Network analysis identified upregulation of mce genes found in the mce5, mce3 and mce7 operons. mce genes are hypothesized to serve a lipid transport role as they are structurally similar to ABC transporters. MAP2113c and MAP0110 are predicted to be lipid binding proteins that may be 1) connected to a lipid anchor on the cell membrane or 2) inserted into the permease, MAP0757. Importation of lipids, potentially host derived, may be utilized for energy conversion.