HMB-PP is an essential metabolite in most pathogenic bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as in
malaria parasites, but is absent from the human host.[3]
HMB-PP is the physiological activator ("
phosphoantigen") for human
Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells, the major
γδ T cell population in peripheral blood. With a bioactivity of 0.1 nM it is 10,000-10,000,000 times more potent than any other natural compound, such as
IPP or alkyl amines. HMB-PP functions in this capacity by binding the B30.2 domain of
BTN3A1.[4]
References
^Rohmer, M; Rohmer, Michel (1999). "The discovery of a mevalonate-independent pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis in bacteria, algae and higher plants". Natural Product Reports. 16 (5): 565–74.
doi:
10.1039/a709175c.
PMID10584331.
^Fox, DT; Poulter, CD (2002). "Synthesis of (E)-4-hydroxydimethylallyl diphosphate. An intermediate in the methyl erythritol phosphate branch of the isoprenoid pathway". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 67 (14): 5009–10.
doi:
10.1021/jo0258453.
PMID12098326.
^Eisenreich, W; Bacher, A; Arigoni, D; Rohdich, F (2004). "Biosynthesis of isoprenoids via the non-mevalonate pathway". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 61 (12): 1401–26.
doi:
10.1007/s00018-004-3381-z.
PMID15197467.
S2CID24558920.