Characterization of heme uptake cluster genes in the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum

Vibrio anguillarum can utilize hemin and hemoglobin as sole iron sources. In previous work we identified HuvA, the V. anguillarum outer membrane heme receptor by complementation of a heme utilization mutant with a cosmid clone (pML1) isolated from a genomic library of V. anguillarum. In the present study, we describe a gene cluster contained in cosmid pML1, coding for nine potential heme uptake and utilization proteins: HuvA, the heme receptor; HuvZ and HuvX; TonB, ExbB, and ExbD; HuvB, the putative periplasmic binding protein; HuvC, the putative inner membrane permease; and HuvD, the putative ABC transporter ATPase. A V. anguillarum strain with an in-frame chromosomal deletion of the nine-gene cluster was impaired for growth with heme or hemoglobin as the sole iron source. Single-gene in-frame deletions were constructed, demonstrating that each of the huvAZBCD genes are essential for utilization of heme as an iron source in V. anguillarum, whereas huvX is not. When expressed in Escherichia coli hemA (strain EB53), a plasmid carrying the gene for the heme receptor, HuvA, was sufficient to allow the use of heme as the porphyrin source. For utilization of heme as an iron source in E. coli ent (strain 101ESD), the tonB exbBD and huvBCD genes were required in addition to huvA. The V. anguillarum heme uptake cluster shows some differences in gene arrangement when compared to homologous clusters described for other Vibrio species.     

Binding of basement-membrane laminin by Escherichia coli

An invasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) isolate was found to bind basement-membrane laminin in a saturable and time-dependent manner. Excess of unlabelled laminin inhibited the binding of the radioactively labelled protein. Non-invasive E. coli K-12 exhibited only low-level laminin binding but introduction of the virulence-associated plasmid from the EIEC isolate led to high-level binding. Expression of a receptor for laminin on the bacteria was therefore associated with the presence of the virulence plasmid. Scatchard plot analysis indicated approximately 1000 receptors per bacterial cell, and a Kd of high-affinity binding of 0.5 pM. A laminin-binding protein which correlated with the presence of the plasmid was isolated and characterized. Its sequence of the eight amino-terminal amino acids was identical to that of the LamB protein of E. coli, although the molecular mass of the two in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel (SDS-PAGE) appeared to be slightly different. Both proteins reacted in immunoblot assays with polyclonal antisera raised against either protein, and both proteins bound laminin. Southern-blot hybridization analysis established that both the EIEC strain and the K-12 strains with or without the virulence plasmid contained one lamB gene only, and no laminin-binding protein appeared when the virulence plasmid was introduced into bacteria deleted for the lamB gene. On the basis of these results we suggest that native LamB protein of E. coli or a modified variant of it serves as a major receptor for laminin binding and is present at an increased level in invasive E. coli containing the virulence plasmid.     

Hemin uptake system of Yersinia enterocolitica: similarities with other TonB-dependent systems in gram-negative bacteria.

The hemin receptor HemR of Yersinia enterocolitica was identified as a 78 kDa iron regulated outer membrane protein. Cells devoid of the HemR receptor as well as cells mutated in the tonB gene were unable to take up hemin as an iron source. The hemin uptake operon from Y. enterocolitica was cloned in Escherichia coli K12 and was shown to encode four proteins: HemP (6.5 kDa), HemR (78 kDa), HemS (42 kDa) and HemT (27 kDa). When expressed in E.coli hemA aroB, a plasmid carrying genes for HemP and HemR allowed growth on hemin as a porphyrin source. Presence of genes for HemP, HemR and HemS was necessary to allow E.coli hemA aroB cells to use hemin as an iron source. The nucleotide sequence of the hemR gene and its promoter region was determined and the amino acid sequence of the HemR receptor deduced. HemR has a signal peptide of 28 amino acids and a typical TonB box at its amino-terminus. Upstream of the first gene in the operon (hemP), a well conserved Fur box was found which is in accordance with the iron-regulated expression of HemR.     

High-level expression of recombinant rabbit cytochrome P450 2E1 in Escherichia coli C41 and its purification

Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is of great interest because of its important role in the oxidation of numerous drugs and carcinogens. The yields of CYP2E1 obtained by the traditional recombinant expression systems have been relatively poor. We report here the development of a system for high-level expression of rabbit CYP2E1 in Escherichia coli strain C41 (DE3). Expression of the membrane-bound CYP2E1 by the pLW01-P450 expression plasmid, which utilizes a T7 promoter, is markedly improved by employing E. coli strain C41 (DE3). The pLW01/2E1 expression plasmid was successfully constructed and high-level expression of CYP2E1 was achieved, which ranged between 900 and 1400 nmol (liter culture)(-1). This yield was 9-14-fold higher than other reports of CYP2E1 expression in other E. coli strains. This system provides a highly efficient tool for expressing CYP2E1. An improved purification procedure for the expressed CYP2E1 involving chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DE52), Reactive Red-agarose (type 1000-CL), and hydroxyapatite is also reported. This procedure allowed recovery of 45% of the expressed protein and CYP2E1 with a specific content of 14 nmol/mg protein, which showed a single band on a polyacrylamide gel stained with Coomassie brilliant blue.     

Genetics and regulation of heme iron transport in Shigella dysenteriae and detection of an analogous system in Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Shigella species can use heme as the sole source of iron. In this work, the heme utilization locus of Shigella dysenteriae was cloned and characterized. A cosmid bank of S. dysenteriae serotype 1 DNA was constructed in an Escherichia coli siderophore synthesis mutant incapable of heme transport. A recombinant clone, pSHU12, carrying the heme utilization system of S. dysenteriae was isolated by screening on iron-poor medium supplemented with hemin. Transposon insertional mutagenesis and subcloning identified the region of DNA in pSHU12 responsible for the phenotype of heme utilization. Minicell analysis indicated that a 70-kDa protein encoded by this region was sufficient to allow heme utilization in E. coli. Synthesis of this protein, designated Shu (Shigella heme uptake), was induced by iron limitation. The 70-kDa protein is located in the outer membrane and binds heme, suggesting it is the S. dysenteriae heme receptor. Heme iron uptake was found to be TonB dependent in E. coli. Transformation of an E. coli hemA mutant with the heme utilization subclone, pSHU262, showed that heme could serve as a source of porphyrin as well as iron, indicating that the entire heme molecule is transported into the bacterial cell. DNA sequences homologous to shu were detected in strains of S. dysenteriae serotype 1 and E. coli O157:H7.     

Analysis of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum hemH gene and its expression in Escherichia coli.

Complementation analysis showed that the Bradyrhizobium japonicum hemH gene was both necessary and sufficient to rescue mutant strains I110ek4 and I110bk2 in trans with respect to hemin auxotrophy, protoporphyrin accumulation, and the deficiency in ferrochelatase activity. The B. japonicum hemH gene was expressed in an Escherichia coli T7 expression system and yielded a 39-kDa protein, which was consistent with the predicted size of the deduced product. The overexpressed protein was purified and shown to contain ferrochelatase activity, thereby demonstrating that the hemH gene encodes ferrochelatase. When expressed from the lac promoter, the B. japonicum hemH gene was able to complement the enzyme activity of a ferrochelatase-defective E. coli mutant, and it also conferred hemin prototrophy on those cells. These latter findings confirm the identity of the hemH gene product and demonstrate that B. japonicum ferrochelatase can interact with the E. coli heme synthesis enzymes for heme formation in complemented cells.     

Abortive assembly of succinate-ubiquinone reductase (Complex II) in a ferrochelatase-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli

Heme molecules play important roles in electron transfer by redox proteins such as cytochromes. In addition, a structural role for heme in protein folding and the assembly of enzymes has been suggested. Previous results obtained using Escherichia coli hemA mutants, which are unable to synthesize 5-aminolevulinic acid, a precursor of porphyrins and hemes, have demonstrated a requirement for heme biosynthesis in the assembly of a functional succinate-ubiquinone reductase (SQR or complex II), which is a component of the aerobic respiratory chain. In the present study, in order to investigate the role of the heme in the assembly of E. coli SQR, we used a hemH (encodes ferrochelatase) mutant that lacks the ability to insert iron into the porphyrin ring. The hemH mutant failed to insert functional SQR into the cytoplasmic membrane, and the catalytic portion of SQR [the flavoprotein subunit (Fp) and the iron-sulfur protein subunit (Ip)] was localized in the cytoplasm of the cell. It is of interest to note that protoporphyrin IX accumulated in the mutant cells and inactivated the cytoplasmic succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity associated with the catalytic Fp-Ip complex. In contrast, SQR was assembled into the membrane of a heme-permeable hemH double mutant when hemin was present in the culture. Only a low level of SQR activity was found in the membrane when hemin was replaced by non-iron metalloporphyrins: Mn-, Co-, Ni-, Zn- and Cu-protoporphyrin IX, or protoporphyrin IX These results indicate that heme iron is indispensable for the functional assembly of SQR in the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli, and provide a new insight into the biological role of heme in the molecular assembly of the multi-subunit enzyme complex.     

Expression in Escherichia coli of c-type cytochrome genes from Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

The genes coding for the photosynthetic reaction center cytochrome c subunit (pufC) and the soluble cytochrome c2 (cycA) from the purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis were expressed in Escherichia coli. Biosynthesis of the reaction center cytochrome without a signal peptide resulted in the formation of inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm amounting to 14% of the total cellular protein. A series of plasmids coding for the cytochrome subunit with varying N-terminal signal peptides was constructed in attempts to achieve translocation across the E. coli cytoplasmic membrane and heme attachment. However, the two major recombinant proteins with N-termini corresponding to the signal peptide and the cytochrome were synthesized in E. coli as non-specific aggregates without heme incorporation. An increased ratio of precursor as compared to 'processed' apo-cytochrome was obtained when expression was carried out in a proteinase-deficient strain. Cytochrome c2 from R. viridis was synthesized in E. coli as a precursor associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. An expression plasmid was designed encoding the N-terminal part of the 33 kDa precursor protein of the oxygen-evolving complex of Photosystem II from spinach followed by cytochrome c2. Two recombinant proteins without heme were found to aggregate as inclusion bodies with N-termini corresponding to the signal peptide and the mature 33 kDa protein.     

肝癌相关抗原SMP30重组基因的构建、表达及分子伴侣共表达系统的探索

旨在通过应用基因工程的方法构建、表达和纯化肝癌相关抗原SMP30,研究共表达分子伴侣提高基因工程蛋白表达的可溶性及效率。PCR扩增SMP30 cDNA序列,用基因工程技术构建重组表达质粒,转化E.coliBL21(DE3)pLysS宿主菌。表达蛋白经Ni-NTA亲和柱纯化获得HIS-SMP30融合蛋白;分别将4种表达不同分子伴侣的质粒(pG-KJE8、pGro7、pKJE7、pTf16)转入E.coliBL21(DE3)中;然后再将重组质粒转入含有分子伴侣质粒的细胞中,进行分子伴侣与重组质粒的共表达,SDS-PAGE检测目的蛋白的表达量与可溶性分析。经优化表达条件后,目的蛋白以包涵体形式表达,目的蛋白占总蛋白的60%以上;纯化后纯度高达95%以上;诱导共表达后,目的蛋白在上清含量极少,不到总表达目的蛋白的10%。成功构建出高效表达的SMP30重组质粒;加入到诱导表达体系中的4种分子伴侣质粒不能有效的促进可溶性蛋白的表达,pTf16共表达系统能增加目的蛋白表达量。     

Hemin, chelatable iron, and the regulation of transferrin receptor biosynthesis

We have examined the mechanism by which hemin regulates the expression of the human transferrin receptor. Previous work led to the suggestion that the regulatory signal is provided by heme (Ward J. H., Jordan, I., Kushner, J. P., and Kaplan, J. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 13235-13240). We demonstrated that hemin regulates the expression of the receptor via alterations in the rate of receptor biosynthesis. However, this effect can be completely abolished by addition of desferrioxamine, an intracellular iron chelator. Competition curves demonstrate that desferrioxamine and hemin affect the same intracellular iron pool. Since the chelator cannot remove iron from heme, we propose that hemin acts simply by delivering iron to a chelatable iron pool and that levels of chelatable iron provide the regulatory signal for expression of the transferrin receptor gene.     

Absence of DNA sequence homology with genes of the Escherichia coli hemB locus in Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) O157 strains

By molecular cloning of chromosomal DNA of a human faecal Escherichia coli O6:non-motile strain, we identified a 1350-bp DNA segment which is commonly present in laboratory and wild-type E. coli strains but had no homology to DNA of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157, O145 and enteropathogens E. coli O55 strains. The nucleotide sequence of the 1350-bp segment cloned on plasmid pEO67 was determined (GenBank accession number AF087670) and a 97.2% sequence homology was found to a region of the E. coli hemB locus with an unknown gene function. The introduction of pEO67 into an STEC O157:H- strain had a stimulating effect on the growth of the recipient strain which was most expressed when bacteria were grown in iron depleted M9 medium with hemin added as the exogenous iron source. This growth effect was not observed with E. coli K-12 carrying pEO67. We suggest that the cloned gene is involved in iron uptake of E. coli and that the alteration in this part of the hemB locus is clonally inherited in genetically closely related STEC O157 and O55 strains.     

Characterization of the Escherichia coli gcvR gene encoding a negative regulator of gcv expression.

The Escherichia coli glycine cleavage enzyme system catalyzes the cleavage of glycine, generating CO2, NH3, and a one-carbon unit. Expression of the operon encoding this enzyme system (gcv) is induced in the presence of glycine and repressed in the presence of purines. In this study, a mutant with high-level constitutive expression of a gcvT-lacZ gene fusion was isolated. The mutation in this strain was designated gcvR1 and was mapped to min 53.3 on the E. coli chromosome. A single-copy plasmid carrying the wild-type gcvR gene complemented the mutation, restoring normal regulation of a gcvT-lacZ fusion, while a multicopy plasmid carrying gcvR led to superrepression under all growth conditions. Negative regulation of a gcvT-lacZ fusion by GcvR was shown to require GcvA, a LysR family protein known to both activate gcv in the presence of glycine and repress gcv in the presence of purines. Models explaining how GcvR and GcvA might interact to regulate gcv expression are proposed.     

Purification and initial characterization of a novel Porphyromonas gingivalis HmuY protein expressed in Escherichia coli and insect cells

Porphyromonas gingivalis acquires iron and heme from the host environment using gingipains, lipoproteins, and outer-membrane receptors. Recently, we identified and characterized a heme receptor HmuR. The hmuR gene is localized in an operon together with a hmuY gene encoding a putative heme-binding protein. The aim of this study was to overexpress and perform a preliminary analysis of the recombinant HmuY protein. We constructed and examined several recombinant HmuY variants which were overexpressed and purified from Escherichia coli and insect cells. Recombinant HmuY protein was expressed in insect cells at levels similar to those in E. coli cells. This protein is predominantly present in a monomeric form but also dimerizes and several other oligomerization forms were found. Hemin and ATP binding to the purified HmuY showed that this protein may play a regulatory function in hemin utilization in P. gingivalis.     

人乳头瘤病毒16型湖北株E7基因的克隆和高效表达

利用基因克隆技术,将ＨＰＶ１６湖北株完整的Ｅ７基因克隆到含乳糖操纵子的表达载体ｐＷＲ５９０１上,经限制性酶切分析获得重组质粒ｐＷＨＢＥ７。ｐＷＨＢＥ７转化大肠杆菌后表达产生分子量为７０ｋＤ的融合蛋白ｌａｃＥ７,该蛋白在免疫印迹实验中可被标准Ｅ７单抗识别。经ＩＰＴＧ诱导后,Ｅ７融合蛋白产量可达细菌总蛋白含量的３０％以上。利用ｌａｃＥ７蛋白在细菌胞浆中形成包含体的性质,简便地提取并纯化了该蛋白质。结果为从免疫学角度探讨ＨＰＶ１６与宫颈癌的关系以及ＨＰＶ疫苗的研制打下基础。     

ompT encodes the Escherichia coli outer membrane protease that cleaves T7 RNA polymerase during purification.

Bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase is stable in Escherichia coli but very susceptible to cleavage by at least one endoprotease after cell lysis. The major source of this endoprotease activity was found to be localized to the outer membrane of the cell. A rapid whole-cell assay was developed to screen different strains for the presence of this proteolytic activity. Using this assay, we identified some common laboratory strains that totally lack the protease. Genetic and Southern analyses of these null strains allowed us to conclude that the protease that cleaves T7 RNA polymerase is OmpT (formerly termed protein a), a known outer membrane endoprotease, and that the null phenotype results from deletion of the OmpT structural gene. A recombinant plasmid carrying the ompT gene enables these deletion strains to synthesize OmpT and converts them to a protease-positive phenotype. The plasmid led to overproduction of OmpT protein and protease activity in the E. coli K-12 and B strains we used, but only weak expression in the E. coli C strain, C1757. This strain-dependent difference in ompT expression was investigated with respect to the known influence of envZ on OmpT synthesis. A small deletion in the ompT region of the plasmid greatly diminishes the amount of OmpT protein and plasmid-encoded protease present in outer membranes. Use of ompT deletion strains for production of T7 RNA polymerase from the cloned gene has made purification of intact T7 RNA polymerase routine. Such strains may be useful for purification of other proteins expressed in E. coli.     

基于重组技术的低毒力高效大肠杆菌原核表达系统的改造与应用

[背景]大肠杆菌作为原核表达系统常用宿主菌株,具有培养成本低、周期短和操作性强等优势,但同时也存在着一些不足.[目的]降低大肠杆菌内毒素合成水平及毒力,同时提高其可溶性表达外源蛋白的能力.[方法]利用CRISPR-Cas技术敲除大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)脂多糖生物合成途径中的lpxM,改变其毒性中心类脂A的侧链结构;在...     

The C-terminal, 23 kDa peptide of E. coli haemolysin 2001 contains all the information necessary for its secretion by the haemolysin (Hly) export machinery

In this paper we show the construction of a plasmid pLG609 which carries the 3'-end of the haemolysin structural gene, hlyA under tac promoter control. Expression of pLG609 in an E. coli strain carrying the haemolysin export genes hlyB and hlyD led to the efficient secretion of the C-terminal, 23 kDa peptide of haemolysin. The discovery of a C-terminal topogenic sequence, which appears to be all that is required for secretion of the whole toxin, is so far quite unique in protein export.