Molecular cloning of a Coxiella burnetii gene encoding a macrophage infectivity potentiator (Mip) analogue Mo, Yin-Yuan and Cianciotto, Nicholas P. and Mallavia, Louis P.,, 141, 2861-2871 (1995), doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/13500872-141-11-2861, publicationName = Microbiology Society, issn = 1350-0872, abstract= Summary: The gene encoding a protein that reacted with antibodies specific for Legionella pneumophila macrophage infectivity potentiator (LpMip) was cloned from Coxiella burnetii, the obligate intracellular rickettsia that causes Q fever in humans. Nucleotide sequencing analysis revealed an ORF encoding a gene product of 230 amino acids with a molecular mass of 25-5 kDa and a predicted pI of 10-7. The predicted amino acid sequence from the ORF shows similarity with Mip/Mip-like proteins of Legionella (46%) and Chlamydia (30%). Moreover, like LpMip, the amino acid sequence of the C terminus of this protein has over 35% identity to prokaryotic and eukaryotic FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) that belong to a superfamily of immunophilins and are peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPlases). When overproduced in Escherichia coli, the C. burnetii protein also exhibited PPlase activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that C. burnetii encodes a Mip analogue (CbMip). A putative leader peptide at the N terminus of CbMip was detected by computer analysis. Furthermore, TnphoA mutagenesis demonstrated that in E. coli CbMip was secreted. In view of the role of Mip/Mip-like proteins in the pathogenesis of Legionella and Chlamydia, CbMip may be a C. burnetii virulence factor., language=, type=