Molecular disection of type IVB secretion system core complex.

细菌病原体利用自身的蛋白质操纵宿主的细胞过程。这些蛋白质，即所谓的效应器，通过组装在细菌细胞表面的专门纳米机器注入宿主细胞。其中一种纳米机器是IV型分泌系统（T4SS）。在这里，我们成功地揭示了Dot/Icm T4SS核心复合物的电镜结构，这对军团菌的发病至关重要。这是首次报道揭示细菌发病所必需的T4SS核心复合体的结构。

Bacterial pathogens manipulate host cellular processes using their own proteins. These proteins, so-called effectors, are injected into host cells using specialized nanomachines assembled on the bacterial cell surface. One such nanomachine is the type IV secretion system (T4SS). Here we have successfully unveiled the electron microscopic structure of the core complex of the Dot/Icm T4SS, which is essential for Legionella pathogenesis. This is the first report unveiling the structure of a T4SS core complex essential for bacterial pathogenesis.