Catch and arrest: exploiting the retromer by a Chlamydial effector

The pathogen behind chlamydia releases a protein called IncE that interacts with a particular host protein to disrupt cell trafficking. In a commentary article, Zhao-Qing Luo from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, discusses three recent structural studies that independently explored how the Chlamydia bacterium creates a privileged home in the cell ? a membrane-bound compartment termed inclusion ? from which it secretes IncE and other so-called inclusion membrane proteins to manipulate host processes for its own survival. These studies identified a small region of IncE that recognizes with high affinity the SNX5 protein, a component of the retromer complex involved in recycling the cell?s secretory machinery. These structural insights could help researchers combat chlamydial infections, a major cause of sexually transmitted and ocular diseases for which no vaccines exist.