High-polarity Mycobacterium avium-derived lipids interact with murine macrophage lipid rafts

Cholesterol- and sphingolipid-rich membrane microdomains (lipid rafts) are widely recognized as portals for pathogenic micro-organisms. A growing body of evidence demonstrates mobilization of host plasma cell membrane lipid rafts towards the site of contact with several pathogens as well as a strict dependence on cholesterol for appropriate internalization. The fate of lipid rafts once the pathogen has been internalized and the nature of the pathogen components that interact with them is however less understood. To address both these issues, infection of the J774 murine cell line with Mycobacterium avium was used as a model. After demonstrating that M. avium induces lipid raft mobilization and that M. avium infects J774 by a cholesterol-dependent mechanism, it is shown here that mycobacterial phagosomes harbour lipid rafts, which are, at least in part, of plasma cell membrane origin. On the other hand, by using latex microbeads coated with any of the three fractions of M. avium-derived lipids of different polarity, we provide evidence that high-polarity, in contrast to low-polarity and intermediate-polarity, mycobacterial lipids or uncoated latex beads have a strong capacity to induce lipid raft mobilization. These results suggest that high-polarity mycobacterial lipid(s) interact with host cell cholesterol-enriched microdomains which may in turn influence the course of infection.