Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of pulmonary tuberculosis which has infected one third of the mankind and causes 2–3 million deaths worldwide each year. The persistence of the infection ensues from the ability of M. tuberculosis to subvert host immune responses in favor of survival and growth of mycobacteria in macrophages. The mechanisms by which M. tuberculosis manipulates the host immune system have only recently come to light. These activities are attributed to lipoarabinomannans (LAM) and their precursors lipomannans (LM), two predominant glycolipids of M. tuberculosis cell wall. LM are able to skew anti‐mycobacterial immune responses into un‐protective ones, while LAM evoke immunosupression upon binding to macrophage and dendritic cell receptors specialized in binding to “self” host components. A newly emerging idea implicates plasma membrane rafts in LM and LAM signaling. Depending on acylation patterns, the glycolipids may either directly incorporate into the raft membrane via mannosylphosphatidylinositol anchors or interact with raft‐associated proteins to affect the assembly of receptor signaling complexes. BioEssays 30:943–954, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.