Remodeling of host phosphatidylcholine by Chlamydia acyltransferase is regulated by acyl-CoA binding protein ACBD6 associated with lipid droplets

The bacterial human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis invades cells as an infectious elementary body (EB). The EB is internalized into a vacuole that is hidden from the host defense mechanism, and is modified to sustain the development of the replicative reticulate body (RB). Inside this parasitophorous compartment, called the inclusion, the pathogen survives supported by an active exchange of nutrients and proteins with the host cell. We show that host lipids are scavenged and modified into bacterial-specific lipids by the action of a shared human-bacterial acylation mechanism. The bacterial acylating enzymes for the essential lipids 1-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and 1-acyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine were identified as CT453 and CT775, respectively. Bacterial CT775 was found to be associated with lipid droplets (LDs). During the development of C. trachomatis, the human acyl-CoA carrier hACBD6 was recruited to cytosolic LDs and translocated into the inclusion. hACBD6 protein modulated the activity of CT775 in an acyl-CoA dependent fashion and sustained the activity of the bacterial acyltransferase by buffering the concentration of acyl-CoAs. We propose that disruption of the binding activity of the acyl-CoA carrier might represent a new drug-target to prevent growth of C. trachomatis.