Comparative Modeling Studies of MPT51 Protein

Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae that secretes proteins that are immunogenic which are said to cause leprosy by causing host tissue binding. The proteins that are secreted are known as trimeric antigen 85 (Ag85) complexes and another protein that is related to leprosy is MPT51 which is also known as FbpC1. This protein binds to fibronectin that is present in the extracellular matrix. MPT51 also plays a role in virulence and host tissue attachment. It plays an important role in the activity of acyltransferase. Biosynthesis of lipids also takes place due to acyltransferase. They are not only required for production of energy but is also needed as building blocks for cell wall composition. MPT51 is a very important protein and there are no studies done on the structure of the protein and hence structure prediction was done by using comparative method. Considering the importance and lack of specific structure, of MPT51 we have predicted the structure by using I-TASSER and the model was validated by using PROCHECK.