scholarly journals The Legionella pneumophila effector Lpg1137 is a homologue of mitochondrial SLC25 carrier proteins, not of known serine proteases

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Gradowski ◽  
Krzysztof Pawłowski

Many bacterial effector proteins that are delivered to host cells during infection are enzymes targeting host cell signalling. Recently, Legionella pneumophila effector Lpg1137 was experimentally characterised as a serine protease that cleaves human syntaxin 17. We present strong bioinformatic evidence that Lpg1137 is a homologue of mitochondrial carrier proteins and is not related to known serine proteases. We also discuss how this finding can be reconciled with the apparently contradictory experimental results.

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Joshua PM Newson

The bacterium Salmonella causes a spectrum of foodborne diseases ranging from acute gastroenteritis to systemic infections, and represents a significant burden of disease globally. In Australia, Salmonella is frequently associated with outbreaks and is a leading cause of foodborne illness, which results in a significant medical and economic burden. Salmonella infection involves colonisation of the small intestine, where the bacteria invades host cells and establishes an intracellular infection. To survive within host cells, Salmonella employs type-three secretion systems to deliver bacterial effector proteins into the cytoplasm of host cells. These bacterial effectors seek out and modify specific host proteins, disrupting host processes such as cell signalling, intracellular trafficking, and programmed cell death. This strategy of impairing host cells allows Salmonella to establish a replicative niche within the cell, where they can replicate to high numbers before escaping to infect neighbouring cells, or be transmitted to new hosts. While the importance of effector protein translocation to infection is well established, our understanding of many effector proteins remains incomplete. Many Salmonella effectors have unknown function and unknown roles during infection. A greater understanding of how Salmonella manipulates host cells during infection will lead to improved strategies to prevent, control, and eliminate disease. Further, studying effector proteins can be a useful means for exploring host cell biology and elucidating the details of host cell signalling.


mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Leoni Swart ◽  
Bernhard Steiner ◽  
Laura Gomez-Valero ◽  
Sabina Schütz ◽  
Mandy Hannemann ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Legionella pneumophila governs its interactions with host cells by secreting >300 different “effector” proteins. Some of these effectors contain eukaryotic domains such as the RCC1 (regulator of chromosome condensation 1) repeats promoting the activation of the small GTPase Ran. In this report, we reveal a conserved pattern of L. pneumophila RCC1 repeat genes, which are distributed in two main clusters of strains. Accordingly, strain Philadelphia-1 contains two RCC1 genes implicated in bacterial virulence, legG1 (Legionella eukaryotic gene 1), and ppgA, while strain Paris contains only one, pieG. The RCC1 repeat effectors localize to different cellular compartments and bind distinct components of the Ran GTPase cycle, including Ran modulators and the small GTPase itself, and yet they all promote the activation of Ran. The pieG gene spans the corresponding open reading frames of legG1 and a separate adjacent upstream gene, lpg1975. legG1 and lpg1975 are fused upon addition of a single nucleotide to encode a protein that adopts the binding specificity of PieG. Thus, a point mutation in pieG splits the gene, altering the effector target. These results indicate that divergent evolution of RCC1 repeat effectors defines the Ran GTPase cycle targets and that modulation of different components of the cycle might fine-tune Ran activation during Legionella infection. IMPORTANCE Legionella pneumophila is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium which, upon inhalation, causes a life-threatening pneumonia termed Legionnaires’ disease. The opportunistic pathogen grows in amoebae and macrophages by employing a “type IV” secretion system, which secretes more than 300 different “effector” proteins into the host cell, where they subvert pivotal processes. The function of many of these effector proteins is unknown, and their evolution has not been studied. L. pneumophila RCC1 repeat effectors target the small GTPase Ran, a molecular switch implicated in different cellular processes such as nucleocytoplasmic transport and microtubule cytoskeleton dynamics. We provide evidence that one or more RCC1 repeat genes are distributed in two main clusters of L. pneumophila strains and have divergently evolved to target different components of the Ran GTPase activation cycle at different subcellular sites. Thus, L. pneumophila employs a sophisticated strategy to subvert host cell Ran GTPase during infection.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Weber ◽  
Maria Wagner ◽  
Hubert Hilbi

ABSTRACTThe causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease,Legionella pneumophila, replicates in amoebae and macrophages in a distinct membrane-bound compartment, theLegionella-containing vacuole (LCV). LCV formation is governed by the bacterial Icm/Dot type IV secretion system that translocates ~300 different “effector” proteins into host cells. Some of the translocated effectors anchor to the LCV membrane via phosphoinositide (PI) lipids. Here, we use the soil amoebaDictyostelium discoideum, producing fluorescent PI probes, to analyze the LCV PI dynamics by live-cell imaging. Upon uptake of wild-type or Icm/Dot-deficientL. pneumophila, PtdIns(3,4,5)P3transiently accumulated for an average of 40 s on early phagosomes, which acquired PtdIns(3)Pwithin 1 min after uptake. Whereas phagosomes containing ΔicmTmutant bacteria remained decorated with PtdIns(3)P, more than 80% of wild-type LCVs gradually lost this PI within 2 h. The process was accompanied by a major rearrangement of PtdIns(3)P-positive membranes condensing to the cell center. PtdIns(4)Ptransiently localized to early phagosomes harboring wild-type or ΔicmT L. pneumophilaand was cleared within minutes after uptake. During the following 2 h, PtdIns(4)Psteadily accumulated only on wild-type LCVs, which maintained a discrete PtdIns(4)Pidentity spatially separated from calnexin-positive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for at least 8 h. The separation of PtdIns(4)P-positive and ER membranes was even more pronounced for LCVs harboring ΔsidC-sdcAmutant bacteria defective for ER recruitment, without affecting initial bacterial replication in the pathogen vacuole. These findings elucidate the temporal and spatial dynamics of PI lipids implicated in LCV formation and provide insight into host cell membrane and effector protein interactions.IMPORTANCEThe environmental bacteriumLegionella pneumophilais the causative agent of Legionnaires’ pneumonia. The bacteria form in free-living amoebae and mammalian immune cells a replication-permissive compartment, theLegionella-containing vacuole (LCV). To subvert host cell processes, the bacteria secrete the amazing number of ~300 different proteins into host cells. Some of these proteins bind phosphoinositide (PI) lipids to decorate the LCV. PI lipids are crucial factors involved in host cell membrane dynamics and LCV formation. UsingDictyosteliumamoebae producing one or two distinct fluorescent probes, we elucidated the dynamic LCV PI pattern in high temporal and spatial resolution. Notably, the endocytic PI lipid PtdIns(3)Pwas slowly cleared from LCVs, thus incapacitating the host cell’s digestive machinery, while PtdIns(4)Pgradually accumulated on the LCV, enabling critical interactions with host organelles. The LCV PI pattern underlies the spatiotemporal configuration of bacterial effector proteins and therefore represents a crucial aspect of LCV formation.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juanita Von Dwingelo ◽  
Ivy Yeuk Wah Chung ◽  
Christopher T. Price ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Snake Jones ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Species of the Legionella genus encode at least 18,000 effector proteins that are translocated through the Dot/Icm type IVB translocation system into macrophages and protist hosts to enable intracellular growth. Eight effectors, including ankyrin H (AnkH), are common to all Legionella species. The AnkH effector is also present in Coxiella and Rickettsiella. To date, no pathogenic effectors have ever been described that directly interfere with host cell transcription. We determined that the host nuclear protein La-related protein 7 (LARP7), which is a component of the 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) complex, interacts with AnkH in the host cell nucleus. The AnkH-LARP7 interaction partially impedes interactions of the 7SK snRNP components with LARP7, interfering with transcriptional elongation by polymerase (Pol) II. Consistent with that, our data show AnkH-dependent global reprogramming of transcription of macrophages infected by Legionella pneumophila. The crystal structure of AnkH shows that it contains four N-terminal ankyrin repeats, followed by a cysteine protease-like domain and an α-helical C-terminal domain. A substitution within the β-hairpin loop of the third ankyrin repeat results in diminishment of LARP7-AnkH interactions and phenocopies the ankH null mutant defect in intracellular growth. LARP7 knockdown partially suppresses intracellular proliferation of wild-type (WT) bacteria and increases the severity of the defect of the ΔankH mutant, indicating a role for LARP7 in permissiveness of host cells to intracellular bacterial infection. We conclude that the AnkH-LARP7 interaction impedes interaction of LARP7 with 7SK snRNP, which would block transcriptional elongation by Pol II, leading to host global transcriptional reprogramming and permissiveness to L. pneumophila. IMPORTANCE For intracellular pathogens to thrive in host cells, an environment that supports survival and replication needs to be established. L. pneumophila accomplishes this through the activity of the ∼330 effector proteins that are injected into host cells during infection. Effector functions range from hijacking host trafficking pathways to altering host cell machinery, resulting in altered cell biology and innate immunity. One such pathway is the host protein synthesis pathway. Five L. pneumophila effectors have been identified that alter host cell translation, and 2 effectors have been identified that indirectly affect host cell transcription. No pathogenic effectors have been described that directly interfere with host cell transcription. Here we show a direct interaction of the AnkH effector with a host cell transcription complex involved in transcriptional elongation. We identify a novel process by which AnkH interferes with host transcriptional elongation through interference with formation of a functional complex and show that this interference is required for pathogen proliferation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C826-C826
Author(s):  
Abbas Maqbool ◽  
Richard Richard ◽  
Tolga Bozkurt ◽  
Yasin Dagdas ◽  
Khaoula Belhai ◽  
...  

Autophagy is a catabolic process involving degradation of dysfunctional cytoplasmic components to ensure cellular survival under starvation conditions. The process involves formation of double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes and delivery of the inner constituents to lytic compartments. It can also target invading pathogens, such as intracellular bacteria, for destruction and is thus implicated in innate immune pathways [1]. In response, certain mammalian pathogens deliver effector proteins into host cells that inhibit autophagy and contribute to enabling parasitic infection [2]. Pyhtophthora infestans, the Irish potato famine pathogen, is a causative agent of late blight disease in potato and tomato crops. It delivers a plethora of modular effector proteins into plant cells to promote infection. Once inside the cell, RXLR-type effector proteins engage with host cell proteins, to manipulate host cell physiology for the benefit of the pathogen. As plants lack an adaptive immune system, this provides a robust mechanism for pathogens to circumvent host defense. PexRD54 is an intracellular RXLR-type effector protein produced by P. infestans. PexRD54 interacts with potato homologues of autophagy protein ATG8 in plant cells. We have been investigating the structural and biochemical basis of the PexRD54/ATG8 interaction in vitro. We have purified PexRD54 and ATG8 independently and in complex from E. coli. Using protein/protein interaction studies we have shown that PexRD54 binds ATG8 with sub-micromolar affinity. We have also determined the structure of PexRD54 in the presence of ATG8. This crystal structure provides key insights into how the previously reported WY-fold of oomycete RXLR-type effectors [3] can be organized in multiple repeats. The structural data also provides insights into the interaction between PexRD54 and ATG8, suggesting further experiments to understand the impact of this interaction on host cell physiology and how this benefits the pathogen.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 2488-2497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina D. Dyall ◽  
Carla M. Koehler ◽  
Maria G. Delgadillo-Correa ◽  
Peter J. Bradley ◽  
Evelyn Plümper ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A number of microaerophilic eukaryotes lack mitochondria but possess another organelle involved in energy metabolism, the hydrogenosome. Limited phylogenetic analyses of nuclear genes support a common origin for these two organelles. We have identified a protein of the mitochondrial carrier family in the hydrogenosome ofTrichomonas vaginalis and have shown that this protein, Hmp31, is phylogenetically related to the mitochondrial ADP-ATP carrier (AAC). We demonstrate that the hydrogenosomal AAC can be targeted to the inner membrane of mitochondria isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae through the Tim9-Tim10 import pathway used for the assembly of mitochondrial carrier proteins. Conversely, yeast mitochondrial AAC can be targeted into the membranes of hydrogenosomes. The hydrogenosomal AAC contains a cleavable, N-terminal presequence; however, this sequence is not necessary for targeting the protein to the organelle. These data indicate that the membrane-targeting signal(s) for hydrogenosomal AAC is internal, similar to that found for mitochondrial carrier proteins. Our findings indicate that the membrane carriers and membrane protein-targeting machinery of hydrogenosomes and mitochondria have a common evolutionary origin. Together, they provide strong evidence that a single endosymbiont evolved into a progenitor organelle in early eukaryotic cells that ultimately give rise to these two distinct organelles and support the hydrogen hypothesis for the origin of the eukaryotic cell.


1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 865-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank C. Gibson III ◽  
Arthur O. Tzianabos ◽  
Frank G. Rodgers

In the absence of serum, Legionella pneumophila demonstrated wash-resistant adherence to U-937 cells, primary guinea-pig alveolar macrophages, and MRC-5 cells. Neither complement nor antibody was required for binding. The dynamics of adherence following inoculation of L. pneumophila at increasing 10-fold multiplicities of infection to each of the three host cell types resulted in a first-order kinetic relationship of binding, indicative of one bacterial adhesin molecule recognized by one host cell receptor moiety. Host cell receptor saturation studies showed that depending on the cell type, 2–8% of the bacterial inoculum adhered to cells under these nonopsonic conditions. Preliminary adhesin and receptor characterization studies were preformed to define the chemical composition of the binding structures on both the organism and the three different host cell surfaces. The adherence phenomenon was investigated using competitive binding assays in the presence of putative adhesin analogs as well as following treatments modifying the microbial and host cell surface membranes. Attachment was evaluated both by viable bacterial cell colony counts and by indirect immunofluorescent assay. With the exception of aldehyde treatments, the various membrane-modifying regimes and the presence of the adhesin analogs were shown to have no effect on organism or host cell viability. Data suggested that the L. pneumophila adhesin responsible for opsonin-independent binding to these host cells was a protein structure with lectin-like properties. Furthermore, this protein would appear to be intimately associated with carbohydrate or lipid structures located on the bacterial outer membrane. The receptor moiety present on all host cells responsible for binding L. pneumophila had properties consistent with a carbohydrate or complex saccharide structure. To evaluate the role of complement receptors as the structures necessary for L. pneumophila infection of macrophages, a battery of monoclonal antibodies were used to block the complement receptor (CR) types 1 (CD35), CR3 (CD 18, CD11b), and CR4 (CD18, CD11c). Blocking studies with CR-specific monoclonal antibodies indicated that CR1 and the integrin receptors CR3 and CR4 were not involved in the opsonin-independent binding of L. pneumophila to macrophage-like cells.Key words: Legionella, opsonin-independent attachment, bacterial adherence, complement receptors, adhesion–receptor interactions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luying Liu ◽  
Craig R. Roy

Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ Disease and is capable replicating inside phagocytic cells such as mammalian macrophages. The Dot/Icm type IV secretion system is a L. pneumophila virulence factor that is essential for successful intracellular replication. During infection, L. pneumophila builds a replication permissive vacuole by recruiting multiple host molecules and hijacking host cellular signaling pathways, a process mediated by the coordinated functions of multiple Dot/Icm effector proteins. RavY is a predicted Dot/Icm effector protein found to be important for optimal L. pneumophila replication inside host cells. Here, we demonstrate that RavY is a Dot/Icm-translocated effector protein that is dispensable for axenic replication of L. pneumophila , but critical for optimal intracellular replication of the bacteria. RavY is not required for avoidance of endosomal maturation, nor does RavY contribute to the recruitment of host molecules found on replication-permissive vacuoles, such as ubiquitin, RAB1a, and RTN4. Vacuoles containing L. pneumophila ravY mutants promote intracellular survival but limit replication. The replication defect of the L. pneumophila ravY mutant was complemented when the mutant was in the same vacuole as wild type L. pneumophila . Thus, RavY is an effector that is essential for promoting intracellular replication of L. pneumophila once the specialized vacuole has been established.


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