Binding and surface exposure characteristics of the gonococcal transferrin receptor are dependent on both transferrin-binding proteins.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is capable of iron utilization from human transferrin in a receptor-mediated event. Transferrin-binding protein 1 (Tbp1) and Tbp2 have been implicated in transferrin receptor function, but their specific roles in transferrin binding and transferrin iron utilization have not yet been defined. We utilized specific gonococcal mutants lacking Tbp1 or Tbp2 to assess the relative transferrin-binding properties of each protein independently of the other. The apparent affinities of the wild-type transferrin receptor and of Tbp1 and Tbp2 individually were much higher than previously estimated for the gonococcal receptor and similar to the estimates for the mammalian transferrin receptor. The binding parameters of both of the mutants were distinct from those of the parent, which expressed two transferrin-binding sites. Tbp2 discriminated between ferrated transferrin and apotransferrin, while Tbp1 did not. Results of transferrin-binding affinity purification, and protease accessibility experiments were consistent with the hypothesis that Tbp1 and Tbp2 interact in the wild-type strain, although both proteins were capable of binding to transferrin independently when separated in the mutants. The presence of Tbp1 partially protected Tbp2 from trypsin proteolysis, and Tbp2 also protected Tbp1 from trypsin exposure. Addition of transferrin to wild-type but not mutant cells protected Tbp1 from trypsin but increased the trypsin susceptibility of Tbp2. These observations indicate that Tbp1 and Tbp2 function together in the wild-type strain to evoke binding conformations that are distinct from those expressed by the mutants lacking either protein.     

Preparation and analysis of isogenic mutants in the transferrin receptor protein genes, tbpA and tbpB, from Neisseria meningitidis

Isogenic mutants were constructed in the tbpA and tbpB genes from Neisseria meningitidis strain B16B6, which code for the transferrin receptor proteins, Tbp1 and Tbp2. Insertion mutants of the tbpA and tbpB genes were obtained by shuttle mutagenesis and by in vitro cassette mutagenesis, respectively. The Isogenic mutants were verified by Southern blot and Western blot analysis. Isogenic mutants deficient in Tbp1 or Tbp2 demonstrated a reduced transferrin binding activity in intact cells and total membranes but were incapable of utilizing transferrin iron for growth. Tbp1 could be isolated by affinity methods from the mutant lacking Tbp2 but isolation of Tbp2 from the mutant lacking Tbp1 required the presence of exogenous Tbp1.     

Energy-dependent changes in the gonococcal transferrin receptor

The pathogenic Neisseria spp. are capable of iron utilization from host iron-binding proteins including transferrin and lactoferrin. Transferrin iron utilization is an energy-dependent, receptor-mediated event in which two identified transferrin-binding proteins participate. One of these proteins, TbpA, is homologous to the TonB-dependent family of outer membrane receptors that are required for high-affinity uptake of vitamin B₁₂ and ferric siderophores. The 'TonB box' is a conserved domain near the amino-terminus of these proteins that has been implicated in interaction with TonB. Interaction between a periplasmic domain of TonB and the TonB box allows energy transduction to occur from the cytoplasmic membrane to the energy-dependent receptor in the outer membrane. We created a TonB box mutant of gonococcal TbpA and demonstrated that its binding and protease accessibility characteristics were indistinguishable from those of gonococcal Ton system mutants. The protease exposure of the second transferrin-binding protein, TbpB, was affected by the energization of TbpA, consistent with an interaction between these proteins. TbpB expressed by the de-energized mutants was readily accessible to protease, similar to TbpB expressed in the absence of TbpA. The de-energized mutants exhibited a marked decrease in transferrin diffusion rate, suggesting that receptor energization was necessary for ligand release. We propose a model to explain the observed Ton-dependent changes in the binding parameters and exposures of TbpA and TbpB.     

A dynamic model of the meningococcal transferrin receptor.

Iron is an essential nutrient for all organisms and consequently, the ability to bind transferrin and sequester iron from his source constitutes a distinct advantage to a blood-borne bacterial pathogen. Levels of free iron are strictly limited in human serum, largely through the action of the iron-binding protein transferrin. The acquisition of trasferrin-iron is coincident with pathogenicity among Neisseria species and a limited number of other pathogens of human and veterinary significance. In Neisseria meningitidis, transferrin binding relies on two co-expressed, outer membrane proteins distinct in aspects of both structure and function. These proteins are independently and simultaneously capable of binding human transferrin and both are required for the optimal uptake of iron from this source. It has been established that transferrin-binding proteins (designated TbpA and TbpB) form a discrete, specific complex which may be composed of a transmembrane species (composed of the TbpA dimer) associated with a single surface-exposed lipoprotein (TbpB). This more exposed protein is capable of selectively binding iron-saturated transferrin and the receptor complex has ligand-binding properties which are distinct from either of its components. Previous in vivo analyses of N. gonorrhoeae, which utilizes a closely related transferrin-iron uptake system, indicated that this receptor exists in several conformations influenced in part by the presence (or absence) of transferrin.Here we propose a dynamic model of the meningococcal transferrin receptor which is fully consistent with the current data concerning this subject. We suggest that TbpB serves as the initial binding site for iron-saturated transferrin and brings this ligand close to the associated transmembrane dimer, enabling additional binding events and orientating transferrin over the dual TbpA pores. The antagonistic association of these receptor proteins with a single ligand molecule may also induce conformational change in transferrin, thereby favouring the release of iron. As, in vivo, transferrin may have iron in one or both lobes, this dynamic molecular arrangement would enable iron uptake from either iron-binding site. In addition, the predicted molecular dimensions of the putative TbpA dimer and hTf are fully consistent with these proposals. Given the diverse data used in the formulation of this model and the consistent characteristics of transferrin binding among several significant Gram-negative pathogens, we speculate that such receptor-ligand interactions may be, at least in part, conserved between species. Consequently, this model may be applicable to bacteria other than N. meningitidis.     

Utilization of Iron Sources and Its Possible Roles in the Pathogenesis of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important enteropathogen in Japan, Taiwan and other coastal regions. The influence of the regulation of iron on the pathogenesis of this pathogen has not been well characterized. The growth of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of V. parahaemolyticus on iron-limited agar plates was stimulated by ferritin, lactoferrin and transferrin at 30 μM , and also by hemin, hemoglobin and ferric ammonium citrate at 100 μM . Spontaneous iron-utilizing mutant strains (mutants) were derived from a clinical strain, ST550. Compared with the parent strain, lowered virulence was demonstrated for these mutants, as assayed by adult mouse and suckling mouse models. The in vivo growth and enterotoxigenicity of these mutants were also lower in the suckling mice. Adherence of the mutants to excised mouse intestine was lower as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. The iron-regulated outer membrane protein profile also changed in selected mutants. These results indicate that iron-regulated outer membrane proteins and other unknown factors associated with iron utilization may have profound influences, besides iron acquisition, on the pathogenesis of V. parahaemolyticus.     

Gonococcal transferrin-binding protein 1 is required for transferrin utilization and is homologous to TonB-dependent outer membrane receptors.

The pathogenic Neisseria species are capable of utilizing transferrin as their sole source of iron. A neisserial transferrin receptor has been identified and its characteristics defined; however, the biochemical identities of proteins which are required for transferrin receptor function have not yet been determined. We identified two iron-repressible transferrin-binding proteins in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, TBP1 and TBP2. Two approaches were taken to clone genes required for gonococcal transferrin receptor function. First, polyclonal antiserum raised against TBP1 was used to identify clones expressing TBP1 epitopes. Second, a wild-type gene copy was cloned that repaired the defect in a transferrin receptor function (trf) mutant. The clones obtained by these two approaches were shown to overlap by DNA sequencing. Transposon mutagenesis of both clones and recombination of mutagenized fragments into the gonococcal chromosome generated mutants that showed reduced binding of transferrin to whole cells and that were incapable of growth on transferrin. No TBP1 was produced in these mutants, but TBP2 expression was normal. The DNA sequence of the gene encoding gonococcal TBP1 (tbpA) predicted a protein sequence homologous to the Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida TonB-dependent outer membrane receptors. Thus, both the function and the predicted protein sequence of TBP1 were consistent with this protein serving as a transferrin receptor.     

Molecular characterization of hybrid Tbp2 proteins from Neisseria meningitides

Transferrin-binding protein 2 (Tbp2) from Neisseria is an outer membrane-associated extracellular lipoprotein that is involved in iron capture within the infected host. The analysis of tbp2 clones isolated from various bacterial strains revealed extensive divergences throughout the open reading frame (ORF), with predicted amino acid (aa) sequences displaying 47% to 83% identity. Such a variability is likely to have resulted from the selective pressure exerted by the host immune system, but raises questions regarding the existing constraints for conservation of protein function. Indeed, the neisserial Tbp2s include a large structured domain, extending throughout the N-terminal half of the protein (～270–290 aa), which is extremely stable and whose conformational integrity is required for efficient binding to human transferrin (hTf). In this work, a functional study of Tbp2s encoded by hybrid genes constructed by reassorting highly divergent tbp2 sequences in the region of the ORF encoding this structured domain was performed. The data demonstrate that the determinant intramolecular interactions allowing formation of a stable Tbp2 structure able to interact efficiently with hTf or/and that the Tbp2 residues involved in the interaction with hTf are not well conserved. However, a number of rearrangements appeared to generate genes encoding proteins which have retained structural stability and hTf-binding capacity. This suggested that despite the extreme aa sequence divergence and the conformational constraints, horizontal genetic exchanges, which are known to occur in neisserial populations, may have contributed significantly to the generation of sequence variation within tbp2 ORFs. The analysis of two tbp2clones characterized in this work supports this hypothesis.     

Preparation and Characterization of Neisseria meningitidis Mutants Deficient in Production of the Human Lactoferrin-Binding Proteins LbpA and LbpB

Pathogenic members of the family Neisseriaceae produce specific receptors facilitating iron acquisition from transferrin (Tf) and lactoferrin (Lf) of their mammalian host. Tf receptors are composed of two outer membrane proteins, Tf-binding proteins A and B (TbpA and TbpB; formerly designated Tbp1 and Tbp2, respectively). Although only a single Lf-binding protein, LbpA (formerly designated Lbp1), had previously been recognized, we recently identified additional bacterial Lf-binding proteins in the human pathogens Neisseria meningitidis and Moraxella catarrhalis and the bovine pathogen Moraxella bovis by a modified affinity isolation technique (R. A. Bonnah, R.-H. Yu, and A. B. Schryvers, Microb. Pathog. 19:285–297, 1995). In this report, we characterize an open reading frame (ORF) located immediately upstream of the N. meningitidis B16B6 lbpA gene. Amino acid sequence comparisons of various TbpBs with the product of the translated DNA sequence from the upstream ORF suggests that the region encodes the Lf-binding protein B homolog (LbpB). The LbpB from strain B16B6 has two large stretches of negatively charged amino acids that are not present in the various transferrin receptor homologs (TbpBs). Expression of the recombinant LbpB protein as a fusion with maltose binding protein demonstrated functional Lf-binding activity. Studies with N. meningitidis isogenic mutants in which the lbpA gene and the ORF immediately upstream of lbpA (putative lbpB gene) were insertionally inactivated demonstrated that LbpA, but not LbpB, is essential for iron acquisition from Lf in vitro.     

Siderophore-Mediated Utilization of Iron Bound to Transferrin by Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus produces a structurally novel type of siderophore, termed vibrioferrin, in response to iron-limitation. This study was performed to examine whether vibrioferrin can assimilate iron from human iron-binding proteins for growth. Comparison of the growth rates between V. parahaemolyticus AQ 3354 and its spontaneously arising, vibrioferrin-deficient mutant revealed that vibrioferrin was able to sequester iron from 30% iron-saturated human transferrin for growth, but not from human lactoferrin even if fully saturated with iron. In both strains, iron limitation induced two high-molecular-weight outer membrane proteins with apparent molecular masses of approximately 78 and 83 kDa. Since only the outer membrane fraction including these proteins showed a binding capacity to ferric vibrioferrin complex, either of them may function as its cell surface receptor. These results suggested that the organism might utilize such a source of host iron through the action of vibrioferrin during in vivo survival and proliferation, although its importance in pathogenesis is unknown.     

Characterization of a ferric-binding protein mutant in Haemophilus influenzae

Ferric-binding proteins (FbpA) have been implicated in the transferrin receptor-mediated iron acquisition pathways of Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria spp. These proteins are believed to function by shuttling iron from outer membrane transferrin receptors to a specific inner membrane permease complex. However, the role of these proteins has not been conclusively resolved, as attempts at creating isogenic mutants in the fbpA genes of both species have been unsuccessful, prompting the hypothesis that FbpA may play a critical role in H . influenzae and Neisseria spp. This study describes the construction and characterization of an H . influenzae isogenic fbpA mutant. It is demonstrated that this mutant is deficient in its ability to use human transferrin as a sole iron source, even though the strain is still competent for binding human transferrin. It is also demonstrated that this mutant is impaired in its ability to use ferric citrate as an iron source, and grows at a reduced rate relative to wild type in broth supplemented with protoporphyrin rather than haemin.     

Cloning and expression of the Haemophilus influenzae transferrin receptor genes

The genomic transferrin receptor genes ( tbpA and tbpB  ) from two strains of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and two strains of non-typable H. influenzae (NTHi) have been cloned and sequenced. The deduced protein sequences of the H. influenzae tbpA genes were 95–100% conserved and those of the tbpB genes were 66–100% conserved. The tbpB gene from one strain of NTHi was found to encode a truncated Tbp2 protein. The tbpB genes from four additional NTHi strains were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) utilizing primers derived from the conserved N-terminal sequences of Tbp1 and Tbp2 and were found to encode full-length proteins. Although several bacterial species express transferrin receptors, when the Tbp1 and Tbp2 sequences from different organisms were compared, there was only limited homology. Recombinant Tbp1 and Tbp2 proteins were expressed from Escherichia coli and antisera were raised to the purified proteins. There was significant antigenic conservation of both Tbp1 and Tbp2 amongst H. influenzae strains, as determined by Western blot analysis. In a passive model of bacteraemia, infant rats were protected from challenge with Hib after transfer of anti-rTbp2 antiserum, but not after anti-rTbp1 antiserum.     

The region of human transferrin involved in binding to bacterial transferrin receptors is iocalized in the C-lobe

Iron-saturated human transferrin was digested with either chymotrypsin or trypsin to produce C-lobe and N-lobe protein fragments. Individual protein fragments were purified by a combination of gel filtration and Concanavalin A affinity chromatographic procedures. The C-lobe and N-lobe fragments of human transferrin were then used in binding assays to assess their ability in binding to the bacterial transferrin receptors. Competitive binding assays demonstrated that the C-lobe fragment of human transferrin binds as well as intact human transferrin to bacterial transterrin receptors from Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Haemophlius influenzae. Using isogenic mutants of N. meningitidis deficient in either of the transferrin-binding proteins (Tbps), we demonstrated that both transferrin-binding proteins were able to bind to the C-lobe fragment of human transferrin.     

Binding of bovine transferrin by Pasteurella multocida serotype B:2,5, a strain which causes haemorrhagic septicaemia in buffalo and cattle

Abstract Pasteurella multocida serotype B:2,5, which causes haemorrhagic septicaemia in buffalo and cattle, was examined for the presence of transferrin-binding proteins. An 82-kDa iron-regulated outer membrane protein was found which specifically binds bovine transferrin. In contrast, P. multocida serotype B:3,4, associated with haemorrhagic septicaemia in feral ruminants, did not express transferrin-binding proteins. These rsults might indicate a role for transferrin binding in the pathogenesis of haemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle and buffalo.     

Identification of two major families of transferrin receptors among Neisseria meningitidis strains based on antigenic and genomic features

Abstract The transferrin receptor or transferrin-binding proteins (Tbps) of 50 strains of Neisseria meningitidis belonging to different serogroups were examined by Western blotting using two rabbit antisera raised against Tbp purified from N. meningitidis strains B16B6 and M982. On the basis of the reactivity of Tbp2 with the antisera two patterns were observed and allowed the classification of 74% of the strains in group I (M982-like strains) and 26% in group II (B16B6-like strains). Southern blot analysis was performed on the genomic DNA of 16 meningococcal strains and showed that under stringent conditions, the tbp2 probes were specific for each group identified. Both immunological and genomic analyses have led to the identification within N. meningitidis strains of two major families distinguished on the basis of the characteristics of Tbp2 molecules, independently of serogroup, type or subtype.     

Transferrin receptors and iron utilization in DMSO-inducible and -uninducible friend erythroleukemia cells

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) induces hemoglobin synthesis and erythroid differentiation of Friend erythroleukemia cells in vitro. Induction is accompanied by increased transferrin-binding activity which is necessary for the cellular acquisition of iron from transferrin for hemoglobin synthesis. There are Friend cell variants in which hemoglobin synthesis is not induced by DMSO unless exogenous hemin is also present. In this study we have compared the inducibility of transferrin receptors and iron incorporation in DMSO-inducible (745) and -uninducible (M-18 and TG-13) Friend cell lines. Cellular transferrin-binding sites were estimated by Scatchard analysis of data obtained from specific binding of [125I]transferrin by the cells. Our results show that unlike 745, DMSO treatment of the variant cell lines M-18 and TG-13 does not result in increased transferrin-binding activity. The number of transferrin-binding sites and the rate of iron uptake is similar in uninduced 745 and DMSO-treated M-18 and TG-13 cells. Although exposure of M-18 cells to DMSO and hemin induces hemoglobinization, this treatment does not cause induction of transferrin receptors. These results indicate that the primary defect in M-18 cells may be the uninducibility of transferrin receptors. We have also shown that exposure of 745 cells to hemin during DMSO treatment prevents the induction of transferrin receptors, suggesting that hemin may control the expression of transferrin receptors in erythroid cells.     

Friend erythroleukemia cell membrane transferrin receptors

We have compared the uptake of transferrin by murine Friend erythroleukemia cells with the uptake of transferrin by murine reticulocytes. Friend cells which had been induced to erythroid differentiation by dimethyl sulfoxide took up transferrin in a manner qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the uptake of transferrin by reticulocytes, while uninduced Friend cells took up only negligible amounts of transferrin. Specific transferrin-binding activity could be demonstrated in detergent extracts of membranes from induced cells and this activity was isolated from membrane extracts by the use of antibody to transferrin. The isolated membrane component(s) with transferrin-binding activity migrated electrophoretically as a single protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels and had similar properties to a transferrin-binding protein isolated previously from reticulocytes.     

Pyrophosphate-Mediated Iron Acquisition from Transferrin in Neisseria meningitidis Does Not Require TonB Activity

The ability to acquire iron from various sources has been demonstrated to be a major determinant in the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis. Outside the cells, iron is bound to transferrin in serum, or to lactoferrin in mucosal secretions. Meningococci can extract iron from iron-loaded human transferrin by the TbpA/TbpB outer membrane complex. Moreover, N. meningitidis expresses the LbpA/LbpB outer membrane complex, which can extract iron from iron-loaded human lactoferrin. Iron transport through the outer membrane requires energy provided by the ExbB-ExbD-TonB complex. After transportation through the outer membrane, iron is bound by periplasmic protein FbpA and is addressed to the FbpBC inner membrane transporter. Iron-complexing compounds like citrate and pyrophosphate have been shown to support meningococcal growth ex vivo. The use of iron pyrophosphate as an iron source by N. meningitidis was previously described, but has not been investigated. Pyrophosphate was shown to participate in iron transfer from transferrin to ferritin. In this report, we investigated the use of ferric pyrophosphate as an iron source by N. meningitidis both ex vivo and in a mouse model. We showed that pyrophosphate was able to sustain N. meningitidis growth when desferal was used as an iron chelator. Addition of a pyrophosphate analogue to bacterial suspension at millimolar concentrations supported N. meningitidis survival in the mouse model. Finally, we show that pyrophosphate enabled TonB-independent ex vivo use of iron-loaded human or bovine transferrin as an iron source by N. meningitidis. Our data suggest that, in addition to acquiring iron through sophisticated systems, N. meningitidis is able to use simple strategies to acquire iron from a wide range of sources so as to sustain bacterial survival.     

Novel host‐specific iron acquisition system in the zoonotic pathogen Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium associated with human and fish (mainly farmed eels) diseases globally known as vibriosis. The ability to infect and overcome eel innate immunity relies on a virulence plasmid (pVvbt2) specific for biotype 2 (Bt2) strains. In the present study, we demonstrated that pVvbt2 encodes a host‐specific iron acquisition system that depends on an outer membrane receptor for eel transferrin called Vep20. The inactivation of vep20 did not affect either bacterial growth in human plasma or virulence for mice, while bacterial growth in eel blood/plasma was abolished and virulence for eels was significantly impaired. Furthermore, vep20 is an iron‐regulated gene overexpressed in eel blood during artificially induced vibriosis both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, homologues to vep20 were identified in the transferable plasmids of two fish pathogen species of broad‐host range, Vibrio harveyi (pVh1) and Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (pPHDD1). These data suggest that Vep20 belongs to a new family of plasmid‐encoded fish‐specific transferrin receptors, and the acquisition of these plasmids through horizontal gene transfer is likely positively selected in the fish‐farming environment. Moreover, we propose Ftbp (fish transferrin binding proteins) as a formal name for this family of proteins.     

Peptide-peptide interactions between human transferrin and transferrin-binding protein B from Moraxella catarrhalis

Transferrin-binding protein B (TbpB) is one component of a bipartite receptor in several gram-negative bacterial species that binds host transferrin and mediates the uptake of iron for growth. Transferrin and TbpB are both bilobed proteins, and the interaction between these proteins seems to involve similar lobe-lobe interactions. Synthetic overlapping peptide libraries representing the N lobe of TbpB from Moraxella catarrhalis were prepared and probed with labeled human transferrin. Transferrin-binding peptides were localized to six different regions of the TbpB N lobe, and reciprocal experiments identified six different regions of the C lobe of transferrin that bound TbpB. Truncations of the N lobe of TbpB that sequentially removed each transferrin-binding determinant were used to probe an overlapping peptide library of the C lobe of human transferrin. The removal of each TbpB N-lobe transferrin-binding determinant resulted in a loss of reactivity with peptides from the synthetic peptide library representing the C lobe of transferrin. Thus, individual peptide-peptide interactions between ligand and receptor were identified. A structural model of human transferrin was used to map surface regions capable of binding to TbpB.