Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 15039363
Infect. Immun. 2004 Apr;72(4):2379-82
Erp (exported repetitive protein) is a member of a mycobacterium-specific family of extracellular proteins. A hydrophobic region that is localized at the C-terminal domain and that represents a quarter of the protein is highly conserved across species. Here we show that this hydrophobic region is not essential for restoring the virulence and tissue damage of an erp::aph mutant strain of M. tuberculosis as assessed by bacterial counts and lung histology analysis in a mouse model of tuberculosis.