Functional replacement of the oligomerization domain of H-NS by the Hha protein of Escherichia coli

Members of the H-NS family of proteins play a relevant role as modulators of gene expression in gram-negative bacteria. Interaction of these proteins with members of the Hha/YmoA family of proteins has been previously reported. It has been hypothesized that the latter proteins are functionally equivalent to the N-terminal domain of H-NS-like proteins. In this report we test this assumption by replacing the N-terminal domain of Escherichia coli H-NS by Hha. It has been possible to obtain a functional protein that can compensate for some of the hns-induced phenotypes. These results highlight the relevance of H-NS-Hha interactions to generate heterooligomeric complexes that modulate gene expression in gram-negative bacteria.     

Evidence for Direct Protein-Protein Interaction between Members of the Enterobacterial Hha/YmoA and H-NS Families of Proteins

Escherichia coli nucleoid-associated H-NS protein interacts with the Hha protein, a member of a new family of global modulators that also includes the YmoA protein from Yersinia enterocolitica. This interaction has been found to be involved in the regulation of the expression of the toxin alpha-hemolysin. In this study, we further characterize the interaction between H-NS and Hha. We show that the presence of DNA in preparations of copurified His-Hha and H-NS is not directly implicated in the interaction between the proteins. The precise molecular mass of the H-NS protein retained by Hha, obtained by mass spectrometry analysis, does not show any posttranslational modification other than removal of the N-terminal Met residue. We constructed an H-NS-His recombinant protein and found that, as expected, it interacts with Hha. We used a Ni(2+)-nitrilotriacetic acid agarose method for affinity chromatography copurification of proteins to identify the H-NS protein of Y. enterocolitica. We constructed a six-His-YmoA recombinant protein derived from YmoA, the homologue of Hha in Y. enterocolitica, and found that it interacts with Y. enterocolitica H-NS. We also cloned and sequenced the hns gene of this microorganism. In the course of these experiments we found that His-YmoA can also retain H-NS from E. coli. We also found that the hns gene of Y. enterocolitica can complement an hns mutation of E. coli. Finally, we describe for the first time systematic characterization of missense mutant alleles of hha and truncated Hha' proteins, and we report a striking and previously unnoticed similarity of the Hha family of proteins to the oligomerization domain of the H-NS proteins.     

A Three-protein Charge Zipper Stabilizes a Complex Modulating Bacterial Gene Silencing

The Hha/YmoA nucleoid-associated proteins help selectively silence horizontally acquired genetic material, including pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance genes and their maintenance in the absence of selective pressure. Members of the Hha family contribute to gene silencing by binding to the N-terminal dimerization domain of H-NS and modifying its selectivity. Hha-like proteins and the H-NS N-terminal domain are unusually rich in charged residues, and their interaction is mostly electrostatic-driven but, nonetheless, highly selective. The NMR-based structural model of the complex between Hha/YmoA and the H-NS N-terminal dimerization domain reveals that the origin of the selectivity is the formation of a three-protein charge zipper with interdigitated complementary charged residues from Hha and the two units of the H-NS dimer. The free form of YmoA shows collective microsecond-millisecond dynamics that can by measured by NMR relaxation dispersion experiments and shows a linear dependence with the salt concentration. The number of residues sensing the collective dynamics and the population of the minor form increased in the presence of H-NS. Additionally, a single residue mutation in YmoA (D43N) abolished H-NS binding and the dynamics of the apo-form, suggesting the dynamics and binding are functionally related.     

Identification of the DNA binding surface of H-NS protein from Escherichia coli by heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy.

The DNA binding domain of H-NS protein was studied with various N-terminal deletion mutant proteins and identified by gel retardation assay and heteronuclear 2D- and 3D-NMR spectroscopies. It was shown from gel retardation assay that DNA binding affinity of the mutant proteins relative to that of native H-NS falls in the range from 1/6 to 1/25 for H-NS(60-137), H-NS(70-137) and H-NS(80-137), whereas it was much weaker for H-NS(91-137). Thus, the DNA binding domain was defined to be the region from residue A80 to the C-terminus. Sequential nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) connectivities and those of medium ranges revealed that the region of residues Q60-R93 in mutant protein H-NS(60-137) forms a long stretch of disordered, flexible chain, and also showed that the structure of the C-terminal region (residues A95-Q137) in mutant H-NS(60-137) was nearly identical to that of H-NS(91-137). 1H and 15N chemical shift perturbations induced by complex formation of H-NS(60-137) with an oligonucleotide duplex 14-mer demonstrated that two loop regions, i.e. residues A80-K96 and T110-A117, play an essential role in DNA binding.     

Essential residues in the H-NS binding site of Hha, a co-regulator of horizontally acquired genes in Enterobacteria

Proteins of the Hha/YmoA family co-regulate with H-NS the expression of horizontally acquired genes in Enterobacteria. Systematic mutations of conserved acidic residues in Hha have allowed the identification of D48 as an essential residue for H-NS binding and the involvement of E25. Mutations of these residues resulted in deregulation of sensitive genes in vivo. D48 is only partially solvent accessible, yet it defines the functional binding interface between Hha and H-NS confirming that Hha has to undergo a conformational change to bind H-NS. Exposed acidic residues, such as E25, may electrostatically facilitate and direct the approach of Hha to the positively charged region of H-NS enabling the formation of the final complex when D48 becomes accessible by a conformational change of Hha.     

N9L and L9N mutations toggle Hha binding and hemolysin regulation by Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae H-NS

Proteins of the Hha/YmoA family co-regulate with H-NS the expression of virulence factors in Enterobacteriaceae. Vibrio cholerae lacks Hha-like proteins and its H-NS (vcH-NS) is unable to bind Hha, in spite of the conservation of a key residue for Hha binding by Escherichia coli H-NS (ecH-NS). Exchange of the residues in position 9 between vcH-NS and ecH-NS strongly reduces Hha binding by ecH-NS and introduces it in vcH-NS. These mutations strongly affect the repression of the hemolysin operon in E. coli and the electrophoretic mobility of complexes formed with a DNA fragment containing its regulatory region.     

A single residue mutation in Hha preserving structure and binding to H-NS results in loss of H-NS mediated gene repression properties

In this study, we report that a single mutation of cysteine 18 to isoleucine (C18I) in Escherichia coli Hha abolishes the repression of the hemolysin operon observed in the wild-type protein. The phenotype also includes a significant decrease in the growth rate of E. coli cells at low ionic strength. Other substitutions at this position (C18A, C18S) have no observable effects in E. coli growth or hemolysin repression. All mutants are stable and well folded and bind H-NS in vitro with similar affinities suggesting that Cys 18 is not directly involved in H-NS binding but this position is essential for the activity of the H-NS/Hha heterocomplexes in the regulation of gene expression.     

Structure of the nucleoid-associated protein Cnu reveals common binding sites for H-NS in Cnu and Hha

Cnu is a nucleoid protein that has a high degree of sequence homology with Hha/YmoA family proteins, which bind to chromatin and regulate the expression of Escherichia coli virulence genes in response to changes in temperature or ionic strength. Here, we determined its solution structure and dynamic properties and mapped H-NS binding sites. Cnu consists of three alpha helices that are comparable with those of Hha, but it has significant flexibility in the C-terminal region and lacks a short alpha helix present in Hha. Upon increasing ionic strength, the helical structure of Cnu is destabilized, especially at the ends of the helices. The dominant H-NS binding sites, located at helix 3 as in Hha, reveal a common structural platform for H-NS binding. Our results may provide structural and dynamic bases for the similarity and dissimilarity between Cnu and Hha functions.     

Structural characterization of the N-terminal oligomerization domain of the bacterial chromatin-structuring protein, H-NS

The H-NS protein plays a key role in condensing DNA and modulating gene expression in bacterial nucleoids. The mechanism by which this is achieved is dependent, at least in part, on the oligomerization of the protein. H-NS consists of two distinct domains; the N-terminal domain responsible for protein oligomerization, and the C-terminal DNA binding domain, which are separated by a flexible linker region. We present a multidimensional NMR study of the amino-terminal 64 residues of H-NS (denoted H-NS1-64) from Salmonella typhimurium, which constitute the oligomerization domain. This domain exists as a homotrimer, which is predicted to be self-associated through a coiled-coil configuration. NMR spectra show an equivalent magnetic environment for each monomer indicating that the polypeptide chains are arranged in parallel with complete 3-fold symmetry. Despite the limited resonance dispersion, an almost complete backbone assignment for 1H(N), 1H(alpha), 15N, 13CO and 13C(alpha) NMR resonances was obtained using a suite of triple resonance experiments applied to uniformly 15N-, 13C/15N- and 2H/13C/15N-labelled H-NS1-64 samples. The secondary structure of H-NS1-64 has been identified on the basis of the analysis of 1H(alpha), 13C(alpha), 13Cbeta and 13CO chemical shifts, NH/solvent exchange rates, intra-chain H(N)-H(N) and medium-range nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOEs). Within the context of the homotrimer, each H-NS1-64 protomer consists of three alpha-helices spanning residues 2-8, 12-20 and 22-53, respectively. A topological model is presented for the symmetric H-NS1-64 trimer based upon the combined analysis of the helical elements and the pattern of backbone amide group 15N nuclear relaxation rates within the context of axially asymmetric diffusion tensor. In this model, the longest of the three helices (helix 3, residues 22-53) forms a coiled-coil interface with the other chains in the homotrimer. The two shorter N-terminal helices fold back onto the outer surface of the coiled-coil core and potentially act to stabilise this configuration.     

The H-NS dimerization domain defines a new fold contributing to DNA recognition

H-NS, a protein found in Gram-negative bacteria, is involved in structuring the bacterial chromosome and acts as a global regulator for the expression of a wide variety of genes. These functions are correlated with both its DNA-binding and oligomerization properties. We have identified the minimal dimerization domain of H-NS, a 46 amino acid-long N-terminal fragment, and determined its structure using heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. The highly intertwined structure of the dimer, reminiscent of a handshake, defines a new structural fold, which may offer a possibility for discriminating prokaryotic from eukaryotic proteins in drug design. Using mutational analysis, we also show that this N-terminal domain actively contributes to DNA binding, conversely to the current paradigm. Together, our data allows us to propose a model for the action of full length H-NS.     

Molecular evolution of the H-NS protein: interaction with Hha-like proteins is restricted to enterobacteriaceae

We show here that chromosomal hha-like genes are restricted to the Enterobacteriaceae. The H-NS N-terminal domain of members of this family includes an unaltered seven-amino-acid sequence located between helixes 1 and 2, termed the Hha signature, that contains key residues for H-NS-Hha interaction.     

The novel Hha/YmoA family of nucleoid-associated proteins: use of structural mimicry to modulate the activity of the H-NS family of proteins

The Hha/YmoA family of proteins is a group of conserved, low-molecular-weight proteins involved in the regulation of gene expression. Studies performed in Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp. and Yersinia sp. highlight the contribution of these proteins in regulating bacterial virulence, horizontal gene transfer and cell physiology. Genes encoding such proteins are located on chromosomes and plasmids in different genera of Gram-negative bacteria. Their mode of action is currently being analysed by studying direct binding of Hha to DNA and as a component of protein complexes with regulatory functions. Recent data on the interaction of Hha with the H-NS family of proteins and structural information suggest a physiological role for such protein complexes in many aspects of gene regulation.     

H-NS promotes looped domain formation in the bacterial chromosome

The bacterial chromosome is organized into loops, which constitute topologically isolated domains. It is unclear which proteins are responsible for the formation of the topological barriers between domains. The abundant DNA-binding histone-like nucleoid structuring protein (H-NS) is a key player in the organization and compaction of bacterial chromosomes [1,2]. The protein acts by bridging DNA duplexes [3], thus allowing for the formation of DNA loops. Here, genome-wide studies of H-NS binding suggest that this protein is directly involved in the formation or maintenance of topological domain barriers.     

In vivo increase of solubility of overexpressed Hha protein by tandem expression with interacting protein H-NS

Gene cloning in appropriate vectors followed by protein overexpression in Escherichia coli is the common means for protein purification. This approach has many advantages but also some drawbacks; one of these is that many proteins fail to achieve a soluble conformation when overexpressed in E. coli. Hha protein belongs to a family of nucleoid-associated proteins functionally related to the H-NS family of proteins. Hha-like proteins and H-NS-like proteins are able to semidirectly bind to each other. We show in this work that overexpressed Hha or HisHha protein (a functional derivative of Hha containing a 6x His tag at the amino end) from a T7-polymerase promoter in BL21 DE3 E. coli strains results in the vast majority of the protein accumulated in insoluble aggregates (inclusion bodies). We also show that tandem overexpression of HisHha and H-NS increases the solubility of HisHha and prevents the formation of inclusion bodies. Single amino acid substitutions in the HisHha protein, which impair interaction with H-NS, render insoluble protein even when tandem-expressed with H-NS, tandem expression of an insoluble protein and an interacting partner is an experimental strategy which could be useful to increase the solubility of other overexpressed proteins in E. coli.