scholarly journals Characterization of the Autocleavage Process of the Escherichia coli HtrA Protein: Implications for its Physiological Role

2008 ◽  
Vol 191 (6) ◽  
pp. 1924-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Jomaa ◽  
Jack Iwanczyk ◽  
Julie Tran ◽  
Joaquin Ortega

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli HtrA protein is a periplasmic protease/chaperone that is upregulated under stress conditions. The protease and chaperone activities of HtrA eliminate or refold damaged and unfolded proteins in the bacterial periplasm that are generated upon stress conditions. In the absence of substrates, HtrA oligomerizes into a hexameric cage, but binding of misfolded proteins transforms the hexamers into bigger 12-mer and 24-mer cages that encapsulate the substrates for degradation or refolding. HtrA also undergoes partial degradation as a consequence of self-cleavage of the mature protein, producing short-HtrA protein (s-HtrA). The aim of this study was to examine the physiological role of this self-cleavage process. We found that the only requirement for self-cleavage of HtrA into s-HtrA in vitro was the hydrolysis of protein substrates. In fact, peptides resulting from the hydrolysis of the protein substrates were sufficient to induce autocleavage. However, the continuous presence of full-length substrate delayed the process. In addition, we observed that the hexameric cage structure is required for autocleavage and that s-HtrA accumulates only late in the degradation reaction. These results suggest that self-cleavage occurs when HtrA reassembles back into the resting hexameric structure and peptides resulting from substrate hydrolysis are allosterically stimulating the HtrA proteolytic activity. Our data support a model in which the physiological role of the self-cleavage process is to eliminate the excess of HtrA once the stress conditions cease.

1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Nakagawa ◽  
Y. Endo ◽  
S. Ohtaki

Abstract. A leupeptin-sensitive new protease was partially purified from hog thyroid lysosomes. The purification procedure included solubilization by hypotonic treatment of lysosomes, and Sephacryl S-300 and Sephadex G-100 gel chromatography, and the purification ratio was 10-fold from lysosomes. The pH optimum of the protease activity was around 5.5 and its molecular weight was estimated to be 22 000 by gel filtration. 2-Mercaptoethanol activated the hydrolysis of protein substrates and its effect was most pronounced in the case of thyroglobulin as substrate. Among the inhibitors used, leupeptin, antipain, toluenesulfonyl-lysine chloromethyl ketone and, to a lesser degree, chymostatin and toluenesulfonyl-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone effectively inhibited the hydrolysis of casein by the enzyme at pH 5.5, whereas pepstatin did not inhibit the activity significantly. The enzyme activity was also inhibited by sulfhydryl inhibitors such as iodoacetamide, p-chloromercuribenzoate, and N-ethylmaleimide. The release of iodoamino acids from thyroglobulin by the enzyme was inhibited in the same manner by the inhibitors used in the hydrolysis of casein. The physiological role of the new protease is discussed in comparison with cathepsin B and L found in liver lysosomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Sharma ◽  
Kalpana Sagar ◽  
Neeraj Kumar Chauhan ◽  
Balaji Venkataraman ◽  
Nidhi Gupta ◽  
...  

The extraordinary expansion of Toxin Antitoxin (TA) modules in the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has received significant attention over the last few decades. The cumulative evidence suggests that TA systems are activated in response to stress conditions and are essential for M. tuberculosis pathogenesis. In M. tuberculosis, Rv1955-Rv1956-Rv1957 constitutes the only tripartite TAC (Toxin Antitoxin Chaperone) module. In this locus, Rv1955 (HigB1) encodes for the toxin and Rv1956 (HigA1) encodes for antitoxin. Rv1957 encodes for a SecB-like chaperone that regulates HigBA1 toxin antitoxin system by preventing HigA1 degradation. Here, we have investigated the physiological role of HigB1 toxin in stress adaptation and pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. qPCR studies revealed that higBA1 is upregulated in nutrient limiting conditions and upon exposure to levofloxacin. We also show that the promoter activity of higBA1 locus in M. tuberculosis is (p)ppGpp dependent. We observed that HigB1 locus is non-essential for M. tuberculosis growth under different stress conditions in vitro. However, guinea pigs infected with higB1 deletion strain exhibited significantly reduced bacterial loads and pathological damage in comparison to the animals infected with the parental strain. Transcriptome analysis suggested that deletion of higB1 reduced the expression of genes involved in virulence, detoxification and adaptation. The present study describes the role of higB1 toxin in M. tuberculosis physiology and highlights the importance of higBA1 locus during infection in host tissues.


Microbiology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 149 (12) ◽  
pp. 3437-3447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilip Chandu ◽  
Dipankar Nandi

PepN and its homologues are involved in the ATP-independent steps (downstream processing) during cytosolic protein degradation. To obtain insights into the contribution of PepN to the peptidase activity in Escherichia coli, the hydrolysis of a selection of endopeptidase and exopeptidase substrates was studied in extracts of wild-type strains and two pepN mutants, 9218 and DH5αΔpepN. Hydrolysis of three of the seven endopeptidase substrates tested was reduced in both pepN mutants. Similar studies revealed that hydrolysis of 10 of 14 exopeptidase substrates studied was greatly reduced in both pepN mutants. This decreased ability to cleave these substrates is pepN-specific as there is no reduction in the ability to hydrolyse exopeptidase substrates in E. coli mutants lacking other peptidases, pepA, pepB or pepE. PepN overexpression complemented the hydrolysis of the affected exopeptidase substrates. These results suggest that PepN is responsible for the majority of aminopeptidase activity in E. coli. Further in vitro studies with purified PepN revealed a preference to cleave basic and small amino acids as aminopeptidase substrates. Kinetic characterization revealed the aminopeptidase cleavage preference of E. coli PepN to be Arg>Ala>Lys>Gly. Finally, it was shown that PepN is a negative regulator of the sodium-salicylate-induced stress in E. coli, demonstrating a physiological role for this aminoendopeptidase under some stress conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
Laura Isabel de de Eugenio ◽  
Rosa Peces-Pérez ◽  
Dolores Linde ◽  
Alicia Prieto ◽  
Jorge Barriuso ◽  
...  

A dye-decolorizing peroxidase (DyP) from Irpex lacteus was cloned and heterologously expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The protein was purified in one chromatographic step after its in vitro activation. It was active on ABTS, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP), and anthraquinoid and azo dyes as reported for other fungal DyPs, but it was also able to oxidize Mn2+ (as manganese peroxidases and versatile peroxidases) and veratryl alcohol (VA) (as lignin peroxidases and versatile peroxidases). This corroborated that I. lacteus DyPs are the only enzymes able to oxidize high redox potential dyes, VA and Mn+2. Phylogenetic analysis grouped this enzyme with other type D-DyPs from basidiomycetes. In addition to its interest for dye decolorization, the results of the transformation of softwood and hardwood lignosulfonates suggest a putative biological role of this enzyme in the degradation of phenolic lignin.


1997 ◽  
Vol 185 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Ferrari ◽  
Paola Chiozzi ◽  
Simonetta Falzoni ◽  
Stefania Hanau ◽  
Francesco Di  Virgilio

Microglial cells express a peculiar plasma membrane receptor for extracellular ATP, named P2Z/P2X7 purinergic receptor, that triggers massive transmembrane ion fluxes and a reversible permeabilization of the plasma membrane to hydrophylic molecules of up to 900 dalton molecule weight and eventual cell death (Di Virgilio, F. 1995. Immunol. Today. 16:524–528). The physiological role of this newly cloned (Surprenant, A., F. Rassendren, E. Kawashima, R.A. North and G. Buell. 1996. Science (Wash. DC). 272:735–737) cytolytic receptor is unknown. In vitro and in vivo activation of the macrophage and microglial cell P2Z/P2X7 receptor by exogenous ATP causes a large and rapid release of mature IL-1β. In the present report we investigated the role of microglial P2Z/P2X7 receptor in IL-1β release triggered by LPS. Our data suggest that LPS-dependent IL-1β release involves activation of this purinergic receptor as it is inhibited by the selective P2Z/P2X7 blocker oxidized ATP and modulated by ATP-hydrolyzing enzymes such as apyrase or hexokinase. Furthermore, microglial cells release ATP when stimulated with LPS. LPS-dependent release of ATP is also observed in monocyte-derived human macrophages. It is suggested that bacterial endotoxin activates an autocrine/paracrine loop that drives ATP-dependent IL-1β secretion.


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (3) ◽  
pp. R664-R673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Canesi ◽  
Caterina Ciacci ◽  
Lucia Cecilia Lorusso ◽  
Michele Betti ◽  
Tiziana Guarnieri ◽  
...  

In mammals, estrogens have dose- and cell-type-specific effects on immune cells and may act as pro- and anti-inflammatory stimuli, depending on the setting. In the bivalve mollusc Mytilus, the natural estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to affect neuroimmune functions. We have investigated the immunomodulatory role of E2 in Mytilus hemocytes, the cells responsible for the innate immune response. E2 at 5–25 nM rapidly stimulated phagocytosis and oxyradical production in vitro; higher concentrations of E2 inhibited phagocytosis. E2-induced oxidative burst was prevented by the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-l-arginine and superoxide dismutase, indicating involvement of NO and O2−; NO production was confirmed by nitrite accumulation. The effects of E2 were prevented by the antiestrogen tamoxifen and by specific kinase inhibitors, indicating a receptor-mediated mechanism and involvement of p38 MAPK and PKC. E2 induced rapid and transient increases in the phosphorylation state of PKC, as well as of a aCREB-like (cAMP responsive element binding protein) transcription factor, as indicated by Western blot analysis with specific anti-phospho-antibodies. Localization of estrogen receptor-α- and -β-like proteins in hemocytes was investigated by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. The effects of E2 on immune function were also investigated in vivo at 6 and 24 h in hemocytes of E2-injected mussels. E2 significantly affected hemocyte lysosomal membrane stability, phagocytosis, and extracellular release of hydrolytic enzymes: lower concentrations of E2 resulted in immunostimulation, and higher concentrations were inhibitory. Our data indicate that the physiological role of E2 in immunomodulation is conserved from invertebrates to mammals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Dumon ◽  
Yasmine Belaidouni ◽  
Diabe Diabira ◽  
Suzanne M. Appleyard ◽  
Gary A. Wayman ◽  
...  

Abstract The canonical physiological role of leptin is to regulate hunger and satiety acting on specific hypothalamic nuclei. Beyond this key metabolic function; leptin also regulates many aspects of development and functioning of neuronal hippocampal networks throughout life. Here we show that leptin controls chloride homeostasis in the developing rat hippocampus in vitro. The effect of leptin relies on the down-regulation of the potassium/chloride extruder KCC2 activity and is present during a restricted period of postnatal development. This study confirms and extends the role of leptin in the ontogenesis of functional GABAergic inhibition and helps understanding how abnormal levels of leptin may contribute to neurological disorders.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (1) ◽  
pp. E1-E14 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. V. Kandror ◽  
P. F. Pilch

Insulin-sensitive cells, adipocytes and myocytes, translocate a number of intracellular proteins to the cell surface in response to insulin. Among these proteins are glucose transporters 1 and 4 (GLUT-1 and GLUT-4, respectively), receptors for insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II)/mannose 6-phosphate (Man-6-P) and transferrin, the aminopeptidase gp 160, caveolin, and a few others. In the case of insulin-activated glucose transport, this translocation has been proven to be the major, if not the only regulatory mechanism of this process. It seems likely that the cell surface recruitment of the IGF-II/Man-6-P and transferrin receptors also serves the nutritional needs of cells, whereas the physiological role of the aminopeptidase gp160 remains uncertain. Analysis of the compartmentalization and trafficking pathways of translocatable proteins in fat cells identified more than one population of recycling vesicles, although all have identical sedimentation coefficients and buoyant densities in vitro. GLUT-4-containing vesicles include essentially all the intracellular GLUT-4, gp160, and the acutely recycling populations of receptors for IGF-II/Man-6-P and transferrin. Besides these proteins, which can be considered as vesicle “cargo”, GLUT-4-containing vesicles have other components, like secretory carrier-associated membrane proteins (SCAMP), Rab(s), and vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)/cellubrevin, which are ubiquitous to secretory vesicles and granules from different tissues. GLUT-1 and caveolin are excluded from GLUT-4-containing vesicles and form different vesicular populations of unknown polypeptide composition. In skeletal muscle, two independent populations of GLUT-4-containing vesicles are found, insulin sensitive and exercise sensitive, which explains the additive effect of insulin and exercise on glucose uptake. Both vesicular populations are similar to each other and to analogous vesicles in fat cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Verma ◽  
Thaís Cabrera Galvão Rojas ◽  
Renato Pariz Maluta ◽  
Janaína Luisa Leite ◽  
Livia Pilatti Mendes da Silva ◽  
...  

The extraintestinal pathogen termed avian pathogenicEscherichia coli(APEC) is known to cause colibacillosis in chickens. The molecular basis of APEC pathogenesis is not fully elucidated yet. In this work, we deleted a component of the Yad gene cluster (yadC) in order to understand the role of Yad in the pathogenicity of the APEC strain SCI-07.In vitro, the transcription level ofyadCwas upregulated at 41°C and downregulated at 22°C. TheyadCexpressionin vivowas more pronounced in lungs than in spleen, suggesting a role in the early steps of the infection. Chicks infected with the wild-type and mutant strains presented, respectively, 80% and 50% mortality rates. The ΔyadCstrain presented a slightly decreased ability to adhere to HeLa cells with or without thed-mannose analog compared with the wild type. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assays showed thatfimHwas downregulated (P< 0.05) andcsgAandecpAwere slightly upregulated in the mutant strain, showing thatyadCmodulates expression of other fimbriae. Bacterial internalization studies showed that the ΔyadCstrain had a lower number of intracellular bacteria recovered from Hep-2 cells and HD11 cells than the wild-type strain (P< 0.05). Motility assays in soft agar demonstrated that the ΔyadCstrain was less motile than the wild type (P< 0.01). Curiously, flagellum-associated genes were not dramatically downregulated in the ΔyadCstrain. Taken together, the results show that the fimbrial adhesin Yad contributes to the pathogenicity and modulates different biological characteristics of the APEC strain SCI-07.


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