Capsule polysaccharide synthesis enzyme GT-1 (GT-1)

Capsule polysaccharide synthesis enzyme GT-1 is a glycosyltransferase essential for the production of the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in certain strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, such as the hypervirulent strain K7 (Cai et al., 2019). It belongs to the Glycosyltransferase Family 1 (GT1) and is encoded within the cps gene cluster, which is responsible for the assembly of the bacterial capsule (Cai et al., 2019). The capsule is a major virulence factor that allows the bacterium to evade the host's innate immune system by preventing phagocytosis and resisting complement-mediated killing (Paczosa & Mecsas, 2016). Deletion or down-regulation of GT-1 leads to a rough phenotype characterized by a significant reduction in CPS production, which attenuates bacterial virulence and increases susceptibility to host immune clearance (Cai et al., 2019). Consequently, GT-1 is considered a promising target for the development of anti-virulence drugs, such as isoferulic acid, and adjunctive therapies to combat multidrug-resistant Klebsiella infections (Wang et al., 2025).

Other names

Glycosyltransferase GT-1Glucosyltransferase GT-1CPS synthesis enzyme GT-1Glycosyltransferase Family 1 protein

Inhibition of capsular polysaccharide synthesis, leading to reduced capsule thickness, increased sensitivity to opsonophagocytosis, and enhancement of complement-mediated killing.