scholarly journals Mcc1229, an Stx2a-amplifying microcin, is produced in vivo and requires CirA for activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Nawrocki ◽  
Laura E. Hutchins ◽  
Kathryn A. Eaton ◽  
Edward G. Dudley

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) strains, including the foodborne pathogen E. coli O157:H7, are responsible for thousands of hospitalizations each year. Various environmental triggers can modulate pathogenicity in EHEC by inducing expression of Shiga toxin (Stx), which is encoded on a lambdoid prophage and transcribed together with phage late genes. Cell-free supernatants of the sequence type (ST) 73 E. coli strain 0.1229 are potent inducers of Stx2a production in EHEC, suggesting that 0.1229 secretes a factor that activates the SOS response and leads to phage lysis. We previously demonstrated that this factor, designated microcin (Mcc) 1229, was proteinaceous and plasmid-encoded. To further characterize Mcc1229 and support its classification as a microcin, we investigated its regulation, determined its receptor, and identified loci providing immunity. Production of Mcc1229 was increased upon iron limitation, as determined by ELISA, lacZ fusions, and qRT-PCR. Spontaneous Mcc1229-resistant mutants and targeted gene deletion revealed that CirA was the Mcc1229 receptor. TonB, which interacts with CirA in the periplasm, was also essential for Mcc1229 import. Subcloning of the Mcc1229 plasmid indicated that Mcc activity was neutralized by two ORFs, each predicted to encode a domain of unknown function (DUF)-containing protein. In a germfree mouse model of infection, colonization with 0.1229 suppressed subsequent colonization of EHEC. Although Mcc1229 was produced in vivo , it was dispensable for colonization suppression. The regulation, import, and immunity determinants identified here are consistent with features of other Mccs, suggesting that Mcc1229 be included in this class of small molecules.

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Nawrocki ◽  
Hillary M. Mosso ◽  
Edward G. Dudley

ABSTRACT Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains, including E. coli O157:H7, cause severe illness in humans due to the production of Shiga toxin (Stx) and other virulence factors. Because Stx is coregulated with lambdoid prophage induction, its expression is especially susceptible to environmental cues. Infections with Stx-producing E. coli can be difficult to model due to the wide range of disease outcomes: some infections are relatively mild, while others have serious complications. Probiotic organisms, members of the gut microbiome, and organic acids can depress Stx production, in many cases by inhibiting the growth of EHEC strains. On the other hand, the factors currently known to amplify Stx act via their effect on the stx-converting phage. Here, we characterize two interactive mechanisms that increase Stx production by O157:H7 strains: first, direct interactions with phage-susceptible E. coli, and second, indirect amplification by secreted factors. Infection of susceptible strains by the stx-converting phage can expand the Stx-producing population in a human or animal host, and phage infection has been shown to modulate virulence in vitro and in vivo. Acellular factors, particularly colicins and microcins, can kill O157:H7 cells but may also trigger Stx expression in the process. Colicins, microcins, and other bacteriocins have diverse cellular targets, and many such molecules remain uncharacterized. The identification of additional Stx-amplifying microbial interactions will improve our understanding of E. coli O157:H7 infections and help elucidate the intricate regulation of pathogenicity in EHEC strains.


2012 ◽  
Vol 198 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunyong Park ◽  
Tom A. Rapoport

The transport of proteins across the plasma membrane in bacteria requires a channel formed from the SecY complex, which cooperates with either a translating ribosome in cotranslational translocation or the SecA ATPase in post-translational translocation. Whether translocation requires oligomers of the SecY complex is an important but controversial issue: it determines channel size, how the permeation of small molecules is prevented, and how the channel interacts with the ribosome and SecA. Here, we probe in vivo the oligomeric state of SecY by cross-linking, using defined co- and post-translational translocation intermediates in intact Escherichia coli cells. We show that nontranslocating SecY associated transiently through different interaction surfaces with other SecY molecules inside the membrane. These interactions were significantly reduced when a translocating polypeptide inserted into the SecY channel co- or post-translationally. Mutations that abolish the interaction between SecY molecules still supported viability of E. coli. These results show that a single SecY molecule is sufficient for protein translocation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (14) ◽  
pp. 4774-4781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Schmidt ◽  
Dmitri A. Ryjenkov ◽  
Mark Gomelsky

ABSTRACT The EAL domain (also known as domain of unknown function 2 or DUF2) is a ubiquitous signal transduction protein domain in the Bacteria. Its involvement in hydrolysis of the novel second messenger cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) was demonstrated in vivo but not in vitro. The EAL domain-containing protein Dos from Escherichia coli was reported to hydrolyze cyclic AMP (cAMP), implying that EAL domains have different substrate specificities. To investigate the biochemical activity of EAL, the E. coli EAL domain-containing protein YahA and its individual EAL domain were overexpressed, purified, and characterized in vitro. Both full-length YahA and the EAL domain hydrolyzed c-di-GMP into linear dimeric GMP, providing the first biochemical evidence that the EAL domain is sufficient for phosphodiesterase activity. This activity was c-di-GMP specific, optimal at alkaline pH, dependent on Mg2+ or Mn2+, strongly inhibited by Ca2+, and independent of protein oligomerization. Linear dimeric GMP was shown to be 5′pGpG. The EAL domain from Dos was overexpressed, purified, and found to function as a c-di-GMP-specific phosphodiesterase, not as a cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase, in contrast to previous reports. The EAL domains can hydrolyze 5′pGpG into GMP, however, very slowly, thus implying that this activity is irrelevant in vivo. Therefore, c-di-GMP is the exclusive substrate of EAL. Multiple-sequence alignment revealed two groups of EAL domains hypothesized to correspond to enzymatically active and inactive domains. The domains in the latter group have mutations in residues conserved in the active domains. The enzymatic inactivity of EAL domains may explain their coexistence with GGDEF domains in proteins possessing c-di-GMP synthase (diguanulate cyclase) activity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongshan Wang ◽  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaodong Shi ◽  
Quanju Xiang

The coding sequence of Salmonella enterica gsiA was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The protein was purified and ATPase activity was characterized by NADH oxidation method. GsiA exhibited optimum activity at 30°C and at pH 8 in Tris/HCl buffer. GsiA protein was stable at 20°C. 66% and 44% activity remained after incubation at 30°C and 40°C for 30 min. pH 7 and pH 9 incubation would obviously reduce the ATPase activity. In vivo functionality of gsiA was determined by constructing gene deletion strains. gsiA was shown to be essential for GSI mediated glutathione uptake and gsiA deletion could decrease the virulence of Salmonella enterica. Interactions of glutathione import proteins GsiA, GsiB, GsiC, and GsiD were investigated by using bacterial two-hybrid system. GsiA could interact with itself and inner membrane proteins GsiC and GsiD. This report provides the first description of gsiA functions in Salmonella enterica. The results could help elucidating the glutathione uptake mechanism and glutathione functions in bacteria.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyifei Wang ◽  
Yan Zou ◽  
Jin Wang ◽  
Hui Ma ◽  
Bowei Zhang ◽  
...  

As the richest component in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) can reduce the colonization of harmful microbiota in vivo, thus lowering the risk of infection; however, the mechanism for this is still unclear. In this study, a model of Escherichia coli O157 infection in healthy adult mice was established to explore the effect of 2’-FL intervention on E. coli O157 colonization and its protective effects on mice. The results showed that 2’-FL intake reduced E. coli O157 colonization in mice intestine by more than 90% (p < 0.001), and it also reduced intestinal inflammation, increased the content of fecal short-chain fatty acids, and enhanced intestinal barrier function. These beneficial effects were attributed to the increased expression of mucins such as MUC2 (increased by more than 20%, p < 0.001), and inhibition of E. coli O157 cell adhesion (about 30% reduction, p < 0.001), and were associated with the modulation of gut microbiota composition. 2’-FL significantly increased the abundance of Akkermansia, a potential probiotic, which may represent the fundamental means by which 2’-FL enhances the expression of mucin and reduces the colonization of harmful bacteria. The current study may support the use of 2’-FL in the prevention of foodborne pathogen infections in human.


1980 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1527-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
EUNG CHIL CHOI ◽  
TOSHIO NISHIMURA ◽  
YOKO TANAKA ◽  
NOBUO TANAKA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd D. Gruber ◽  
Chithra Krishnamurthy ◽  
Jonathan B. Grimm ◽  
Michael R. Tadross ◽  
Laura M. Wysocki ◽  
...  

<p>The utility of<b> </b>small molecules to probe or perturb biological systems is limited by the lack of cell-specificity. ‘Masking’ the activity of small molecules using a general chemical modification and ‘unmasking’ it only within target cells could overcome this limitation. To this end, we have developed a selective enzyme–substrate pair consisting of engineered variants of <i>E. coli</i> nitroreductase (NTR) and a 2‑nitro-<i>N</i>-methylimidazolyl (NM) masking group. To discover and optimize this NTR–NM system, we synthesized a series of fluorogenic substrates containing different nitroaromatic masking groups, confirmed their stability in cells, and identified the best substrate for NTR. We then engineered the enzyme for improved activity in mammalian cells, ultimately yielding an enzyme variant (enhanced NTR, or eNTR) that possesses up to 100-fold increased activity over wild-type NTR. These improved NTR enzymes combined with the optimal NM masking group enable rapid, selective unmasking of dyes, indicators, and drugs to genetically defined populations of cells.</p>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Prakash ◽  
Travis Lantz ◽  
Krupal P. Jethava ◽  
Gaurav Chopra

Amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients primarily consists of amyloid beta 1-42 (Ab42). Commercially, Ab42 is synthetized using peptide synthesizers. We describe a robust methodology for expression of recombinant human Ab(M1-42) in Rosetta(DE3)pLysS and BL21(DE3)pLysS competent E. coli with refined and rapid analytical purification techniques. The peptide is isolated and purified from the transformed cells using an optimized set-up for reverse-phase HPLC protocol, using commonly available C18 columns, yielding high amounts of peptide (~15-20 mg per 1 L culture) in a short time. The recombinant Ab(M1-42) forms characteristic aggregates similar to synthetic Ab42 aggregates as verified by western blots and atomic force microscopy to warrant future biological use. Our rapid, refined, and robust technique to purify human Ab(M1-42) can be used to synthesize chemical probes for several downstream in vitro and in vivo assays to facilitate AD research.


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