scholarly journals Sphingosine kills bacteria by binding to cardiolipin

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (22) ◽  
pp. 7686-7696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabea Verhaegh ◽  
Katrin Anne Becker ◽  
Michael J. Edwards ◽  
Erich Gulbins

Sphingosine is a long-chain sphingoid base that has been shown to have bactericidal activity against many pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. We have previously demonstrated that sphingosine is present in nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cells and constitutes a central element of the defense of the airways against bacterial pathogens. Here, using assorted lipid-binding and cell biology assays, we demonstrate that exposing P. aeruginosa and S. aureus cells to sphingosine results in a very rapid, i.e. within minutes, permeabilization of the bacterial plasma membrane, resulting in leakiness of the bacterial cells, loss of ATP, and loss of bacterial metabolic activity. These alterations rapidly induced bacterial death. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that the presence of the protonated NH2 group in sphingosine, which is an amino-alcohol, is required for sphingosine's bactericidal activity. We also show that the protonated NH2 group of sphingosine binds to the highly negatively–charged lipid cardiolipin in bacterial plasma membranes. Of note, this binding was required for bacterial killing by sphingosine, as revealed by genetic experiments indicating that E. coli or P. aeruginosa strains that lack cardiolipin synthase are resistant to sphingosine, both in vitro and in vivo. We propose that binding of sphingosine to cardiolipin clusters cardiolipin molecules in the plasma membrane of bacteria. This clustering results in the formation of gel-like or even crystal-like structures in the bacterial plasma membrane and thereby promotes rapid permeabilization of the plasma membrane and bacterial cell death.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2530
Author(s):  
Bijean D. Ford ◽  
Diego Moncada Giraldo ◽  
Camilla Margaroli ◽  
Vincent D. Giacalone ◽  
Milton R. Brown ◽  
...  

Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is dominated by the recruitment of myeloid cells (neutrophils and monocytes) from the blood which fail to clear the lung of colonizing microbes. In prior in vitro studies, we showed that blood neutrophils migrated through the well-differentiated lung epithelium into the CF airway fluid supernatant (ASN) mimic the dysfunction of CF airway neutrophils in vivo, including decreased bactericidal activity despite an increased metabolism. Here, we hypothesized that, in a similar manner to neutrophils, blood monocytes undergo significant adaptations upon recruitment to CFASN. To test this hypothesis, primary human blood monocytes were transmigrated in our in vitro model into the ASN from healthy control (HC) or CF subjects to mimic in vivo recruitment to normal or CF airways, respectively. Surface phenotype, metabolic and bacterial killing activities, and transcriptomic profile by RNA sequencing were quantified post-transmigration. Unlike neutrophils, monocytes were not metabolically activated, nor did they show broad differences in activation and scavenger receptor expression upon recruitment to the CFASN compared to HCASN. However, monocytes recruited to CFASN showed decreased bactericidal activity. RNASeq analysis showed strong effects of transmigration on monocyte RNA profile, with differences between CFASN and HCASN conditions, notably in immune signaling, including lower expression in the former of the antimicrobial factor ISG15, defensin-like chemokine CXCL11, and nitric oxide-producing enzyme NOS3. While monocytes undergo qualitatively different adaptations from those seen in neutrophils upon recruitment to the CF airway microenvironment, their bactericidal activity is also dysregulated, which could explain why they also fail to protect CF airways from infection.


2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 2660-2671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna A. Huhtakangas ◽  
Christopher J. Olivera ◽  
June E. Bishop ◽  
Laura P. Zanello ◽  
Anthony W. Norman

Abstract The steroid hormone 1α,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 (1,25D) regulates gene transcription through a nuclear receptor [vitamin D receptor (VDR)] and initiation of rapid cellular responses through a putative plasma membrane-associated receptor (VDRmem). This study characterized the VDRmem present in a caveolae-enriched membrane fraction (CMF), a site of accumulation of signal transduction agents. Saturable and specific [3H]-1,25D binding in vitro was found in CMF of chick, rat, and mouse intestine; mouse lung and kidney; and human NB4 leukemia and rat ROS 17/2.8 osteoblast-like cells; in all cases the 1,25D KD binding dissociation constant = 1–3 nm. Our data collectively support the classical VDR being the VDRmem in caveolae: 1) VDR antibody immunoreactivity was detected in CMF of all tissues tested; 2) competitive binding of [3H]-1,25D by eight analogs of 1,25D was significantly correlated between nuclei and CMF (r2 = 0.95) but not between vitamin D binding protein (has a different ligand binding specificity) and CMF; 3) confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of ROS 17/2.8 cells showed VDR in close association with the caveolae marker protein, caveolin-1, in the plasma membrane region; 4) in vivo 1,25D pretreatment reduced in vitro [3H]-1,25D binding by 30% in chick and rat intestinal CMF demonstrating in vivo occupancy of the CMF receptor by 1,25D; and 5) comparison of [3H]-1,25D binding in VDR KO and WT mouse kidney tissue showed 85% reduction in VDR KO CMF and 95% reduction in VDR KO nuclear fraction. This study supports the presence of VDR as the 1,25D-binding protein associated with plasma membrane caveolae.


1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 1421-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
A L Hitt ◽  
T H Lu ◽  
E J Luna

We have cloned and sequenced ponticulin, a 17,000-dalton integral membrane glycoprotein that binds F-actin and nucleates actin assembly. A single copy gene encodes a developmentally regulated message that is high during growth and early development, but drops precipitously during cell streaming at approximately 8 h of development. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a protein with a cleaved NH2-terminal signal sequence and a COOH-terminal glycosyl anchor. These predictions are supported by amino acid sequencing of mature ponticulin and metabolic labeling with glycosyl anchor components. Although no alpha-helical membrane-spanning domains are apparent, several hydrophobic and/or sided beta-strands, each long enough to traverse the membrane, are predicted. Although its location on the primary sequence is unclear, an intracellular domain is indicated by the existence of a discontinuous epitope that is accessible to antibody in plasma membranes and permeabilized cells, but not in intact cells. Such a cytoplasmically oriented domain also is required for the demonstrated role of ponticulin in binding actin to the plasma membrane in vivo and in vitro (Hitt, A. L., J. H. Hartwig, and E. J. Luna. 1994. Ponticulin is the major high affinity link between the plasma membrane and the cortical actin network in Dictyostelium. J. Cell Biol. 126:1433-1444). Thus, ponticulin apparently represents a new category of integral membrane proteins that consists of proteins with both a glycosyl anchor and membrane-spanning peptide domain(s).


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
N. Satake ◽  
A. K. Alhaider ◽  
W. V. Holt ◽  
P. F. Watson

In vitro production (IVP) of porcine embryos is currently suboptimal compared with IVP in species such as mice and cattle. In vitro fertilization (IVF) usually involves the co-culture of oocytes and spermatozoa in a medium droplet. Oocyte quality is the focus of many studies. In vivo, the quality of spermatozoa is as important as the oocyte, and females have many mechanisms to select the highest quality spermatozoa for their oocytes. Oviductal proteins have been shown to affect sperm motility of subpopulations within an ejaculate. The present study was carried out to investigate normal and polyspermic fertilization rates of spermatozoa exposed to oviductal epithelial apical plasma membrane (APM) proteins, a mixture of peripheral proteins extracted by 1 M NaCl from isolated oviductal apical plasma membranes, prior to co-culture with oocytes in IVF. Porcine oocytes were aspirated from ovaries and grade I quality oocytes (cumulus–oocyte complexes with a spherical shape, visible nucleus, even-density cytoplasm, and multiple layers of cumulus cells) were selected and matured for 48 h in TCM-199 supplemented with LH (0.5 �g mL-1), FSH (0.5 �g mL-1), and EGF (10 ng mL-1). Ejaculates were washed through a Percoll gradient to obtain a concentrated pellet. Spermatozoa were diluted in capacitation–fertilization medium in the presence or absence of APM proteins (100 �g mL-1), incubated for 10 min, and then co-cultured with oocytes for 6 h in modified Tween medium B with milk powder medium (Abeydeera and Day 1997 Theriogenology 48, 537–544) supplemented with BSA (0.4%) and sodium bicarbonate (5 mM). Presumptive zygotes were cultured in NCSU23 medium for a further 48 h. The oocytes/zygotes were then fixed and stained with propidium iodide for evaluation by confocal microscopy for fertilization and cleavage (n = 1235 oocytes). Fertilization rates were compared between treatments in a chi-squared test using the Mantel-Haenszel approach. The overall fertilization rate was significantly higher (78 vs. 86%) when spermatozoa were incubated in the presence of APM proteins (P < 0.05), and in the group of fertilized oocytes, polyspermic fertilization (47 vs. 21%) was significantly reduced when spermatozoa were exposed to APM proteins (P < 0.01). However, cleavage rates were not different. These results suggest that exposure of spermatozoa to APM proteins prior to IVF increases the fertilization rate and decreases the incidence of polyspermic penetration.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Evans ◽  
Stefan H. Gerber ◽  
Diana Murray ◽  
Christina C. Leslie

Translocation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) to Golgi and ER in response to intracellular calcium mobilization is regulated by its calcium-dependent lipid-binding, or C2, domain. Although well studied in vitro, the biochemical characteristics of the cPLA2C2 domain offer no predictive value in determining its intracellular targeting. To understand the molecular basis for cPLA2C2 targeting in vivo, the intracellular targets of the synaptotagmin 1 C2A (Syt1C2A) and protein kinase Cα C2 (PKCαC2) domains were identified in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells and compared with that of hybrid C2 domains containing the calcium binding loops from cPLA2C2 on Syt1C2A and PKCαC2 domain backbones. In response to an intracellular calcium increase, PKCαC2 targeted plasma membrane regions rich in phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate, and Syt1C2A displayed a biphasic targeting pattern, first targeting phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate-rich regions in the plasma membrane and then the trans-Golgi network. In contrast, the Syt1C2A/cPLA2C2 and PKCαC2/cPLA2C2 hybrids targeted Golgi/ER and colocalized with cPLA2C2. The electrostatic properties of these hybrids suggested that the membrane binding mechanism was similar to cPLA2C2, but not PKCαC2 or Syt1C2A. These results suggest that primarily calcium binding loops 1 and 3 encode structural information specifying Golgi/ER targeting of cPLA2C2 and the hybrid domains.


1995 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Voldstedlund ◽  
Jørgen Tranum-Jensen ◽  
Aase Handberg ◽  
Jørgen Vinten

Voldstedlund M. Tranum-Jensen J, Handberg A, Vinten J. Quantity of Na/K-ATPase and glucose transporters in the plasma membrane of rat adipocytes is reduced by in vivo triiodothyronine. Eur J Endocrinol 1995:133:626–34. ISSN 0804–4643 The expression of sodium-potassium pumps and glucose transporters in pure adipocyte plasma membranes from a hyperthyroid animal model was studied. Hyperthyroidism was induced by enteral administration of five doses of 90 μg of triiodothyronine every second day to 8-week-old rats. Following isolation of epididymal adipocytes, 3-O-methylglucose transport was measured and the number of Na/K-ATPase-(α1- and α2-isoforms) and glucose transporter (GLUT1 and GLUT4) molecules in sheets of adipocyte plasma membrane were determined by quantitative immunoelectron microscopy, using gold labelling. Maximal in vitro insulin stimulation of adipocytes increased the glucose transport rate and the amount of GLUT4 in the plasma membrane 15-fold, whereas the amount of α2 was unaffected, In adipocytes from hyperthyroid rats, mean adipocyte volume was decreased by 18% and the quantities of GLUT4 per unit area of plasma membrane (maximal insulin stimulation) and of α2 were decreased by 19% and 15% respectively. Thus, hypotrophia of fat tissue in the hyperthyroid state is associated with a decreased expression in the plasma membrane of the glucose transporter GLUT4 and the α2 -isoform of Na/K-ATPase. Marianne Voldstedlund, Department of Medical Physiology, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (17) ◽  
pp. 2660-2668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Deng ◽  
Ruth Kabeche ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Jian-Qiu Wu ◽  
James B. Moseley

The plasma membrane contains both dynamic and static microdomains. Given the growing appreciation of cortical microdomains in cell biology, it is important to determine the organizational principles that underlie assembly of compartmentalized structures at the plasma membrane. The fission yeast plasma membrane is highly compartmentalized by distinct sets of cortical nodes, which control signaling for cell cycle progression and cytokinesis. The mitotic inhibitor Skb1 localizes to a set of cortical nodes that provide spatial control over signaling for entry into mitosis. However, it has been unclear whether these nodes contain other proteins and how they might be organized and tethered to the plasma membrane. Here we show that Skb1 forms nodes by interacting with the novel protein Slf1, which is a limiting factor for node formation in cells. Using quantitative fluorescence microscopy and in vitro assays, we demonstrate that Skb1-Slf1 nodes are megadalton structures that are anchored to the membrane by a lipid-binding region in the Slf1 C-terminus. We propose a mechanism for higher-order node formation by Skb1 and Slf1, with implications for macromolecular assemblies in diverse cell types.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (604) ◽  
pp. eabj2138
Author(s):  
Duo-Yao Cao ◽  
Jorge F. Giani ◽  
Luciana C. Veiras ◽  
Ellen A. Bernstein ◽  
Derick Okwan-Duodu ◽  
...  

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are used by millions of patients to treat hypertension, diabetic kidney disease, and heart failure. However, these patients are often at increased risk of infection. To evaluate the impact of ACEIs on immune responses to infection, we compared the effect of an ACEI versus an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) on neutrophil antibacterial activity. ACEI exposure reduced the ability of murine neutrophils to kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro. In vivo, ACEI-treated mice infected with MRSA had increased bacteremia and tissue bacteria counts compared to mice treated with an ARB or with no drug. Similarly, ACEIs, but not ARBs, increased the incidence of MRSA-induced infective endocarditis in mice with aortic valve injury. Neutrophils from ACE knockout (KO) mice or mice treated with an ACEI produced less leukotriene B4 (LTB4) upon stimulation with MRSA or lipopolysaccharide, whereas neutrophils overexpressing ACE produced more LTB4 compared to wild-type neutrophils. As a result of reduced LTB4 production, ACE KO neutrophils showed decreased survival signaling and increased apoptosis. In contrast, neutrophils overexpressing ACE had an enhanced survival phenotype. Last, in a cohort of human volunteers receiving the ACEI ramipril for 1 week, ACEI administration reduced neutrophil superoxide and reactive oxygen species production and neutrophils isolated from volunteers during ramipril treatment had reduced bactericidal activity. Together, these data demonstrate that ACEI treatment, but not ARB treatment, can reduce the bacterial killing ability of neutrophils.


1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Nakata ◽  
K Sobue ◽  
N Hirokawa

Calpactin I complex, a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein, promotes aggregation of chromaffin vesicles at physiological micromolar calcium ion levels. Calpactin I complex was found to be a globular molecule with a diameter of 10.7 +/- 1.7 (SD) nm on mica. When liposomes were aggregated by calpactin, quick-freeze, deep-etching revealed fine thin strands (6.5 +/- 1.9 [SD] nm long) cross-linking opposing membranes in addition to the globules on the surface of liposomes. Similar fine strands were also observed between aggregated chromaffin vesicles when they were mixed with calpactin in the presence of Ca2+ ion. In cultured chromaffin cells, similar cross-linking short strands (6-10 nm) were found between chromaffin vesicles and the plasma membrane after stimulation with acetylcholine. Plasma membranes also revealed numerous globular structures approximately 10 nm in diameter on their cytoplasmic surface. Immunoelectron microscopy on frozen ultrathin sections showed that calpactin I was closely associated with the inner face of the plasma membranes and was especially conspicuous between plasma membranes and adjacent vesicles in chromaffin cells. These in vivo and in vitro data strongly suggest that calpactin I complex changes its conformation to cross-link vesicles and the plasma membrane after stimulation of cultured chromaffin cells.


mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa M. Naguib ◽  
Miguel A. Valvano

ABSTRACT Burkholderia cenocepacia is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium that causes serious respiratory infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Recently, we discovered that B. cenocepacia produces the extracellular bacterial lipocalin protein BcnA upon exposure to sublethal concentrations of bactericidal antibiotics. BcnA captures a range of antibiotics outside bacterial cells, providing a global extracellular mechanism of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we investigated water-soluble and liposoluble forms of vitamin E as inhibitors of antibiotic binding by BcnA. Our results demonstrate that in vitro, both vitamin E forms bind strongly to BcnA and contribute to reduce the MICs of norfloxacin (a fluoroquinolone) and ceftazidime (a β-lactam), both of them used as model molecules representing two different chemical classes of antibiotics. Expression of BcnA was required for the adjuvant effect of vitamin E. These results were replicated in vivo using the Galleria mellonella larva infection model whereby vitamin E treatment, in combination with norfloxacin, significantly increased larva survival upon infection in a BcnA-dependent manner. Together, our data suggest that vitamin E can be used to increase killing by bactericidal antibiotics through interference with lipocalin binding. IMPORTANCE Bacteria exposed to stress mediated by sublethal antibiotic concentrations respond by adaptive mechanisms leading to an overall increase of antibiotic resistance. One of these mechanisms involves the release of bacterial proteins called lipocalins, which have the ability to sequester antibiotics in the extracellular space before they reach bacterial cells. We speculated that interfering with lipocalin-mediated antibiotic binding could enhance the efficacy of antibiotics to kill bacteria. In this work, we report that when combined with bactericidal antibiotics, vitamin E contributes to enhance bacterial killing both in vitro and in vivo. This adjuvant effect of vitamin E requires the presence of BcnA, a bacterial lipocalin produced by the cystic fibrosis pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia. Since most bacteria produce lipocalins like BcnA, we propose that our findings could be translated into making novel antibiotic adjuvants to potentiate bacterial killing by existing antibiotics.


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