scholarly journals Liberibacter solanacearum interacts with host psyllid vitellogenin with its membrane proteins

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poulami Sarkar ◽  
Murad Ghanim

Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) haplotype D, transmitted by the carrot psyllid Bactericera trigonica is a major constraint in carrot production in Israel. Understanding the molecular interactions between the psyllid vector and CLso can facilitate non-chemical approaches for controlling CLso caused-diseases. In this study, we used CLso outer membrane protein (OmpA) and flagellin as baits to screen for psyllid interacting proteins in a yeast-two hybrid assay. We identified psyllid vitellogenin (Vg) protein to interact with both OmpA and flagellin of CLso. As Vg is often involved in innate immunity with its expression tightly linked to autophagy, a major component of the immune response in the cell, we also analyzed the expression of autophagy-related genes to further elucidate this interaction. We used the juvenile hormone (JH-III) to induce the expression of Vg, thapsigargin for suppressing autophagy, and rapamycin for inducing autophagy. The results revealed that Vg negatively regulates autophagy and vice versa. JH-III induced Vg expression significantly suppressed autophagy and, the levels of CLso significantly increased resulting in significant mortality of the insect. Although the specific role of Vg remains obscure, the findings presented here identify Vg as an important component in the insect immune responses against CLso and may help in understanding the initial molecular response in the vector against Liberibacter.

Author(s):  
Jinxin Gao ◽  
Jie Chen

We previously reported that the BTB domain-containing protein Clt1 regulates melanin and toxin synthesis, conidiation, and pathogenicity in Curvularia lunata, but the interacting proteins and regulative mechanism of Clt1 are unclear. In this research, we identified two proteins, which respectively correspond to xylanase (Clxyn24) and acetyl xylan esterase (Claxe43) from C. lunata were regulated by Clt1. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays were conducted to verify the interaction of Clt1 with full-length Clxyn24 and Claxe43. Furthermore, the Y2H assay revealed that Clt1 physically interacted with Clxyn24 and Claxe43 through its BTB domain to degrade xylan which was used as a carbon source for C. lunata growth. The utilization of xylan provides acetyl-CoA for the synthesis of melanin and toxin, as well as energy and other intermediate metabolites for conidiation. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that PKS18 and its 13 flanking genes are found clustered in a region spanning 57.89 kb on scaffold 9 of the C. lunata CX-3 genome were down-regulated in toxin production deficient mutant T806, and this cluster is possibly responsible for toxin biosynthesis of C. lunata.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1968-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irfan Saadi ◽  
Adisa Kuburas ◽  
Jamison J. Engle ◽  
Andrew F. Russo

ABSTRACT Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome is an autosomal-dominant disorder caused by mutations in the PITX2 homeodomain protein. We have studied the mechanism underlying the dominant negative K88E mutation, which occurs at position 50 of the homeodomain. By using yeast two-hybrid and in vitro pulldown assays, we have documented that PITX2a can form homodimers in the absence of DNA. Moreover, the K88E mutant had even stronger dimerization ability, primarily due to interactions involving the C-terminal region. Dimerization allowed cooperative binding of wild-type (WT) PITX2a to DNA containing tandem bicoid sites in a head-to-tail orientation (Hill coefficient, 1.73). In contrast, the WT-K88E heterodimer bound the tandem sites with greatly reduced cooperativity and decreased transactivation activity. To further explore the role of position 50 in PITX2a dimerization, we introduced a charge-conservative mutation of lysine to arginine (K88R). The K88R protein had greatly reduced binding to a TAATCC element and did not specifically bind any other TAATNN motif. Like K88E, K88R formed relatively stronger dimers with WT. As predicted by our model, the K88R protein acted in a dominant negative manner to suppress WT PITX2a activity. These results suggest that the position 50 residue in the PITX2 homeodomain plays an important role in both DNA binding and dimerization activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaochen Luo ◽  
Lei Lv ◽  
Yingying Li ◽  
Baokun Sui ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Rabies, caused by rabies virus (RABV), is a fatal encephalitis in humans and other mammals, which continues to present a public health threat in most parts of the world. Our previous study demonstrated that Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is essential in the induction of anti-RABV antibodies via the facilitation of germinal center formation. In the present study, we investigated the role of TLR7 in the pathogenicity of RABV in a mouse model. Using isolated plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), we demonstrated that TLR7 is an innate recognition receptor for RABV. When RABV invaded from the periphery, TLR7 detected viral single-stranded RNA and triggered immune responses that limited the virus’s entry into the central nervous system (CNS). When RABV had invaded the CNS, its detection by TLR7 led to the production of cytokines and chemokines and an increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. Consequently, peripheral immune cells, including pDCs, macrophages, neutrophils, and B cells infiltrated the CNS. While this immune response, triggered by TLR7, helped to clear viruses, it also increased neuroinflammation and caused immunopathology in the mouse brain. Our results demonstrate that TLR7 is an innate recognition receptor for RABV, which restricts RABV invasion into the CNS in the early stage of viral infection but also contributes to immunopathology by inducing neuroinflammation. IMPORTANCE Developing targeted treatment for RABV requires understanding the innate immune response to the virus because early virus clearance is essential for preventing the fatality when the infection has progressed to the CNS. Previous studies have revealed that TLR7 is involved in the immune response to RABV. Here, we establish that TLR7 recognizes RABV and facilitates the production of some interferon-stimulated genes. We also demonstrated that when RABV invades into the CNS, TLR7 enhances the production of inflammatory cytokines which contribute to immunopathology in the mouse brain. Taken together, our findings suggest that treatments for RABV must consider the balance between the beneficial and harmful effects of TLR7-triggered immune responses.


Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoying Wang ◽  
Xianghui Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Abualgasim Elgaili Abdalla ◽  
Tieshan Teng ◽  
...  

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a critical role in the immune system which sense pathogens and present their antigens to prime the adaptive immune responses. As the progression of sepsis occurs, DCs are capable of orchestrating the aberrant innate immune response by sustaining the Th1/Th2 responses that are essential for host survival. Hence, an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of DCs would have a beneficial effect in overcoming the obstacle occurring in sepsis. This paper focuses on the role of DCs in the progression of sepsis and we also discuss the reverse sepsis-induced immunosuppression through manipulating the DC function. In addition, we highlight some potent immunotherapies that could be used as a novel strategy in the early treatment of sepsis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Rhind ◽  
H. W. Reid ◽  
S. R. McMillen ◽  
G. Palmarini

AbstractThe relationship between weaning stress-induced changes in stress hormone profiles and immune function was investigated in groups of 10 lambs immunized against adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH; treatment A) or fi-endorphin (treatment B) to reduce the circulating concentrations of cortisol and fi-endorphin respectively. Control animals (treatment C) were immunized against a porcine thyroglobulin carrier protein. Application of weaning stress was associated with significantly elevated plasma cortisol concentrations but no significant increase in fi-endorphin concentrations in C lambs. Immunization against ACTH suppressed the post-weaning increase in cortisol concentration. This was associated with a transient reduction in the lymphocyte stimulation response to keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) antigen in the A animals but there was no effect on the antibody response or interferon-y production by antigen stimulated lymphocytes. There were no significant effects of immunization against fi-endorphin on the capacity to mount antibody or cell-mediated immune responses. It is concluded that weaning stress-induced increases in cortisol did not inhibit the immune response. Since cortisol concentrations and the cell mediated immune response at 8 days after immunization were positively associated it is concluded that these indices are not independent measures of stress.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 3859-3872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Hyun Ahn ◽  
Yixun Xu ◽  
Won-Jong Jang ◽  
Michael J. Matunis ◽  
Gary S. Hayward

ABSTRACT The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) major immediate-early protein IE2 is a nuclear phosphoprotein that is believed to be a key regulator in both lytic and latent infections. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO-1, SUMO-2, and SUMO-3) and a SUMO-conjugating enzyme (Ubc9) were isolated as IE2-interacting proteins. In vitro binding assays with glutathioneS-transferase (GST) fusion proteins provided evidence for direct protein-protein interaction. Mapping data showed that the C-terminal end of SUMO-1 is critical for interaction with IE2 in both yeast and in vitro binding assays. IE2 was efficiently modified by SUMO-1 or SUMO-2 in cotransfected cells and in cells infected with a recombinant adenovirus expressing HCMV IE2, although the level of modification was much lower in HCMV-infected cells. Two lysine residues at positions 175 and 180 were mapped as major alternative SUMO-1 conjugation sites in both cotransfected cells and an in vitro sumoylation assay and could be conjugated by SUMO-1 simultaneously. Although mutations of these lysine residues did not interfere with the POD (or ND10) targeting of IE2, overexpression of SUMO-1 enhanced IE2-mediated transactivation in a promoter-dependent manner in reporter assays. Interestingly, many other cellular proteins identified as IE2 interaction partners in yeast two-hybrid assays also interact with SUMO-1, suggesting that either directly bound or covalently conjugated SUMO moieties may act as a bridge for interactions between IE2 and other SUMO-1-modified or SUMO-1-interacting proteins. When we investigated the intracellular localization of SUMO-1 in HCMV-infected cells, the pattern changed from nuclear punctate to predominantly nuclear diffuse in an IE1-dependent manner at very early times after infection, but with some SUMO-1 protein now associated with IE2 punctate domains. However, at late times after infection, SUMO-1 was predominantly detected within viral DNA replication compartments containing IE2. Taken together, these results show that HCMV infection causes the redistribution of SUMO-1 and that IE2 both physically binds to and is covalently modified by SUMO moieties, suggesting possible modulation of both the function of SUMO-1 and protein-protein interactions of IE2 during HCMV infection.


Methods ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengshi Jin ◽  
Alan F. Lau ◽  
Kendra Dean Martyn

2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Harber ◽  
Anette Sundstedt ◽  
David Wraith

Current immunosuppression protocols, although often effective, are nonspecific and therefore hazardous. Consequently, immunological tolerance that is antigen specific and does not globally depress the patient's immune system has become one of the Holy Grails of immunology. Since the discovery that cytokines have immunomodulatory effects, extensive research has investigated the potential of these molecules to induce and maintain specific immunological tolerance in the context of transplantation, allergy and autoimmunity. In this article, we review the possible mechanisms by which cytokines can modulate the immune response and the animal models that frequently confound the theory that a single cytokine, or group of cytokines, can induce tolerance in a predictable manner. Finally, we discuss the role of cytokines at a paracrine level, particularly in the context of inducing and maintaining antigen-specific, regulatory T cells with the clinical potential to suppress specific immune responses.


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