Characterization of phospholipase activity of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III cytotoxin, ExoU

Recombinant ExoU (rExoU) and yeast extract were used to optimize an in vitro phospholipase assay as a basis for identifying the mechanism for enzyme activation and substrate specificity. Our results support a model in which a eukaryotic protein cofactor or complex facilitates the interaction of rExoU with phospholipid substrates.     

Oligomerization and structural changes of the pore-forming Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytotoxin.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a pathogenic factor, the 29-kDa pore-forming protein cytotoxin. Nonspecific oligomers of cytotoxin up to the hexamer, induced by oxidative crosslinking or detergent micellae, were based on intermolecular disulfide bridges. SDS induced tetramer, hexamer and mainly pentamers that were resistant to reducing conditions, indicating an additional oligomerization mechanism. Functional oligomerization after incubation with different membranes resulted in an oligomer of approximately 145 kDa that was identified as the pentamer by comparison with the SDS-induced oligomers. Covalent modification with diethylpyrocarbonate showed that histidine residues are indispensable for functional pentamerization. Pentamer formation was not influenced by the lipid composition of the liposomes tested, indicating that rising membrane fluidity did not increase oligomerization. The secondary structure of cytotoxin determined by spectroscopy is characterized by approximately 50% beta-sheet, 20% beta-turn, 10% alpha-helix and 20% remaining structure. Contact with detergent micellae or liposomes induced a reorganization of beta-structure associations, as observed by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Electron microscopy and principle component analysis of the cytotoxin monomer demonstrated a tapered molecule of 11 nm in length and a maximum width of 3.5 nm. These results classify the cytotoxin as a pore-forming toxin, rich in antiparallel beta-structure, that needs to oligomerize and inserts into membranes; it is very similar to the Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin.     

Phage-conversion of cytotoxin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

We isolated a temperate phage which carried the cytotoxin gene (ctx) from a cytotoxin (CTX)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain, PA158. The phage, phi CTX, had a head with a hexagonal outline and a contractile tail with tail fibres. The phage genome was a linear double-stranded 35.5 kb DNA with single-stranded cohesive ends (cos). The attP, cos and ctx genes were all located very close to one another within a 2.3 kb segment on the phage genome in the order given (in the circular form). phi CTX converted CTX non-producing P. aeruginosa strains into CTX producers. A single copy of phi CTX DNA was integrated at the same site on the host chromosome (attB) in every lysogen, including PA158. However, the amount of CTX produced in these lysogens varied from strain to strain and was less than that in PA158.     

Transposon mutagenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoprotease genes.

Transposon Tn5 was used to generate protease-deficient insertion mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The presence of Tn5 in the chromosome of P. aeruginosa was demonstrated by transduction and DNA-DNA hybridization. The altered protease production and kanamycin resistance were cotransduced into a wild-type P. aeruginosa strain. A radiolabeled probe of Tn5 DNA hybridized to specific BamHI fragments isolated from the insertion mutants. Two independently isolated Tn5 insertion mutants had reduced protease production, partially impaired elastase activity, and no immunologically reactive alkaline protease.     

Insertion mutagenesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa phosphate-specific porin OprP.

The gene encoding the Pseudomonas aeruginosa phosphate-specific porin OprP was subjected to both linker and epitope insertion mutageneses. Nine of the 13 linker mutant genes expressed protein at levels comparable to those obtained with the wild-type gene. These mutant proteins were shown, by indirect immunofluorescence with an OprP-specific antiserum, to be properly exposed at the cell surface. Four of the linker mutant genes expressed protein at reduced levels which were not detectable at the cell surface. A foreign epitope from the circumsporozoite form of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum was cloned into the linker sites of 12 of the 13 mutant genes. Seven of the resultant epitope insertion mutant genes expressed surface-exposed protein. Two of these mutant genes presented the foreign epitope at surface-accessible regions as assessed by indirect immunofluorescence with a malarial epitope-specific monoclonal antibody. The data from these experiments were used to create a topological model of the OprP monomer.     

Production of cytotoxin by clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Presence of cytotoxin was studied in extracts of 57 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (46 bacteremia, 4 environmental, and 7 Fisher immunotype), 10 Pseudomonas species, and 7 nonpseudomonas isolates. Cytotoxin was identified by Western immunoblot in extracts of all P. aeruginosa isolates. None of the Pseudomonas species or nonpseudomonas isolates were shown to produce this protein. No immunologic cross-reactivity was observed between cytotoxin antibody and P. aeruginosa alkaline protease, toxin A, or elastase. In partially purified extracts of two bacteremia strains and PA 158 (parent strain for cytotoxin production), detection of cytotoxin by Western immunoblot was correlated with biological activity, as measured by the cell swelling assay. Cytotoxin appears to be produced by all strains of P. aeruginosa and biological activity can be demonstrated in extracts of the strains tested. This biological activity is neutralized by specific antibody. Because of its known marked cytotoxic effect on most eukaryotic cells, P. aeruginosa cytotoxin might be an important factor in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infections.     

Site-directed mutagenesis reveals key residue for O antigen chain length regulation and protein stability in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Wzz2

The production of preferred lipopolysaccharide O antigen chain lengths is important for the survival of pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria in different environments, yet how Wzz proteins regulate these lengths is not well understood. The Wzz2 proteins from two different serotype O11 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are responsible for the expression of different very long chain lengths despite high sequence homology. Site-directed mutagenesis was performed to determine whether a specific amino acid was responsible for this difference in chain length; the residue present in position 321 within the second predicted coiled-coil region was able to determine which chain length was produced. A panel of site-directed mutants introducing different amino acids at this position implicated that the charge of the amino acid affected chain length, with positively charged residues associated with shorter chain lengths. Expression data also suggested this site was important for overall stability of the protein because mutants predicted to disrupt proper folding of the α helix led to lower protein levels. Cross-linking studies found that Wzz2 proteins producing shorter chain lengths had more stable higher-order oligomers. Mapping residue 321 onto the solved Escherichia coli Wzz FepE crystal structure predicted it to be located within α helix 8, which participates in intermonomeric interactions. These data further support the observation that Wzz oligomerization is necessary for chain length regulating activity but also provide evidence that differences in complex stability or changes in the conformation of the oligomer can lead to shifts in the length of the O antigen side chain.     

DNA insertion mutagenesis in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa R plasmid.

The transposons Tn501 and Tn7 were used to obtain transfer-deficient (Tra^?) and carbenicillin-sensitive (Cb^s) mutants of the narrow-host-range R plasmid R91-5 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In cells that are harboring R91-5 together with an unrelated transposon-donor plasmid and that have undergone 50–75 cell divisions (established donors), both transposons induced a very high frequency (87–93%) of mutations affecting Tra and Cb^r. However, when transconjugants inheriting the transposon are immediately assayed for mutations (recent transposition events) there is a marked difference in the yield of mutants. Although both transposons generated Cb^s mutants at the same frequency (0.1%), Tn7 induced Tra^? mutants at a frequency of 59% as compared to 0.23% by Tn501. Some Tra^? mutants induced by both transposons were leaky but retransfer tests showed that this was not due to reversion. Both transposons showed considerable specificity when mutations affecting transfer-related functions such as sensitivity to donor-specific phage, inhibition of the replication of phage G101, and entry exclusion were compared. Thirty-seven percent of the Tra^? mutants induced by Tn501 were also Cb^s. These double mutants were leaky with respect to all the properties tested and selection for Cb^r revertants restored Tra⁺ simultaneously. A number of hypotheses were considered as explanations including the possibility that tra (transfer genes) and bla (the β-lactamase gene for carbenicillin resistance) are closely linked in R91-5, that tra formed a number of operons with one of them encompassing bla, and the possible creation of a new promoter in the bla gene which impeded tra expression. Both transposons generated a high frequency (81–86%) of deletions of the bla gene as judged by nonrevertibility.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of the temperature-sensing histidine protein kinase CorS from Pseudomonas syringae

Several plant pathogenic bacteria belonging to the species Pseudomonas syringae produce the phytotoxin coronatine to enhance their virulence. Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea PG4180 synthesizes coronatine at the virulence-promoting temperature of 18 degrees C, but not at 28 degrees C, its optimal growth temperature. In contrast, temperature has virtually no effect on coronatine synthesis in P. syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000. A modified two-component system controlling coronatine synthesis and consisting of the histidine protein kinase (HPK), CorS, the response regulator, CorR, and a third essential component, CorP, had been identified previously in both strains. CorS had been identified previously as a potential thermo-sensor. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the HPKs from the two organisms revealed distinct differences. Site-directed mutagenesis of CorS from PG4180 was used to identify amino acyl residues potentially important for temperature signal perception. Point mutations and combinations of these were introduced into corS of PG4180 to generate corS variants with increased similarities to the respective allele from strain DC3000. These mutations resulted in either loss of activity, increase of thermoresponsiveness, or had no effect on CorS activity. Although none of the introduced mutations resulted in a clear conversion of CorS activity from thermo-responsive to temperature-independent, amino acyl residues important for temperature-dependent CorS activity and coronatine biosynthesis were identified.     

Cassette mutagenesis of Met121 in azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Cassette mutagenesis was used to exchange the suggested copper ligand Met121 in azurin to all other amino acids, and a stop codon. The mutant proteins were characterized by optical absorption spectroscopy and EPR. At low pH, all mutants exhibit the characteristics of a blue type 1 copper protein, indicating that methionine is not needed to create a blue copper site. At high pH, the Glu121 and the Lys121 mutants constitute a new form of protein-bound copper that is outside the range of type 1 copper.     

Site-directed mutagenesis and homology modeling indicate an important role of cysteine 439 in the stability of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) from the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a tetrameric enzyme that contains a catalytic Cys286 and three additional cysteine residues, Cys353, 377, and 439, per subunit. In the present study, we have investigated the role of the three non-essentials in enzyme activity and stability by homology modeling and site-directed mutagenesis. Cys353 and Cys377 are located at the protein surface with their sulfur atoms buried, while Cys439 is at the subunit interface between the monomers forming a dimeric pair. All three residues were individually mutated to alanine and Cys439 also to serine and valine. The five mutant proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Their steady-state kinetics was not significantly affected, neither was their structure as indicated by circular dicroism spectropolarimetry, protein intrinsic fluorescence, and size-exclusion chromatography. However, stability was severely reduced in the Cys439 mutants particularly in C439S and C439V, which were inactive when expressed at 37 degrees C. They also exhibited higher sensitivity to thermal and chemical inactivation, and higher propensity to dissociation by dilution or exposure to low ionic strength than the wild-type enzyme. Size-exclusion chromatography indicates that substitution of Cys439 lead to unstable dimers or to stable dimeric conformations not compatible with a stable tetrameric structure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of an aldehyde dehydrogenase revealing a residue at the dimer interface involved in holding the dimer, and consequently the tetramer, together.     

Solubilization of the binding protein from Ehrlich ascites cells and erythrocytes to Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytotoxin.

The binding protein for pore-forming Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytotoxin was solubilized from Ehrlich ascites cell plasma membranes and rabbit and bovine erythrocyte ghosts using nonionic and zwittergent detergents. Analysis of solubilized plasma membranes from Ehrlich cells by a ligand-blot technique after separation by SDS-PAGE/electrophoretic transfer to nitrocellulose or affinity chromatography showed a protein of 70 kDa molecular mass, which binds to cytotoxin. The binding protein solubilized from rabbit erythrocyte ghosts showed a molecular mass of 50 kDa and that from bovine ghosts 55 kDa according to the former test. The binding proteins could be characterized as acidic. They contain a glycan moiety which is, however, not involved in the interaction of cytotoxin with the binding site.     

Inactivation of the potent Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytotoxin pyocyanin by airway peroxidases and nitrite

Pyocyanin (1-hydroxy-N-methylphenazine, PCN) is a cytotoxic pigment and virulence factor secreted by the human bacterial pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, we report that exposure of PCN to airway peroxidases, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), and NaNO(2) generates unique mononitrated PCN metabolites (N-PCN) as revealed by HPLC/mass spectrometry analyses. N-PCN, in contrast to PCN, was devoid of antibiotic activity and failed to kill Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, in contrast to PCN, intratracheal instillation of N-PCN into murine lungs failed to induce a significant inflammatory response. Surprisingly, at a pH of ～7, N-PCN was more reactive than PCN with respect to NADH oxidation but resulted in a similar magnitude of superoxide production as detected by electron paramagnetic resonance and spin trapping experiments. When incubated with Escherichia coli or lung A549 cells, PCN and N-PCN both led to superoxide formation, but lesser amounts were detected with N-PCN. Our results demonstrate that PCN that has been nitrated by peroxidase/H(2)O(2)/NO(2)(-) systems possesses less cytotoxic/proinflammatory activity than native PCN. Yield of N-PCN was decreased by the presence of the competing physiological peroxidase substrates (thiocyonate) SCN(-) (myeloperoxidase, MPO, and lactoperoxidase, LPO) and Cl(-) (MPO), which with Cl(-) yielded chlorinated PCNs. These reaction products also showed decreased proinflammatory ability when instilled into the lungs of mice. These observations add important insights into the complexity of the pathogenesis of lung injury associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections and provide additional rationale for exploring the efficacy of NO(2)(-) in the therapy of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection in cystic fibrosis.     

Linker-insertion mutagenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane protein OprF

The oprF gene, expressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa major outer membrane protein OprF, was subjected to semi-random linker mutagenesis by insertion of a 1.3 kb Hincll kanamycin-resistance fragment from plasmid pUC4KAPA into multiple blunt-ended restriction sites in the oprF gene. The kanamycin-resistance gene was then removed by Pstl digestion, which left a 12 nucleotide pair linker residue. Nine unique clones were identified that contained such linkers at different locations within the oprF gene and were permissive for the production of full-length OprF variants. In addition, one permissive site-directed insertion, one non-permissive insertion and one carboxy-terminal insertion leading to proteolytic truncation were also identified. These mutants were characterized by DNA sequencing and reactivity of the OprF variants with a bank of 10 OprF-specific monoclonal antibodies. Permissive clones produced OprF variants that were shown to be reactive with the majority of these monoclonal antibodies, except where the insertion was suspected of interrupting the epitope for the specific monoclonal antibody. In addition, these variants were shown to be 2-mercaptoethanol modifiable, to be resistant to trypsin cleavage in intact cells and partly cleaved to a high-molecular-weight core fragment in outer membranes and, where studied, to be accessible to indirect immunofluorescenee labelling in intact cells by monoclonal antibodies specific for surface epitopes. Based on these data, a revised structural model for OprF is proposed.     

Molecular heterogeneity of a type III cytotoxin, Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoenzyme S

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ExoS is a bifunctional type III cytotoxin. The N-terminus (residues 1-232) is a Rho GTPase activating protein (GAP) domain, while the C-terminus (residues 233-453) is a FAS-dependent ADP-ribosyltransferase domain that targets Ras and Ras-like GTPases. A membrane localization domain (residues 51-72) localizes ExoS to a perinuclear region within eukaryotic cells. Recent studies observed that ExoS is auto-ADP-ribosylated upon delivery into eukaryotic cells. Auto-ADP-ribosylated ExoS analyzed from eukaryotic cells displayed pI heterogeneity and prompted an analysis of this heterogeneity. Bacterial-associated ExoS and ExoS that had been secreted by P. aeruginosa also showed pI heterogeneity with five charge forms ranging in pI from 5.1 to 5.9. The pI heterogeneity of ExoS was independent of a mass change and thus represented molecular charge conformers. Urea was not required to observe the pI conformers of ExoS; it enhanced the resolution and formation of pI conformers during the focusing component of the analysis. ExoS(E381D), a mutant deficient in ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, isolated from cultured cells showed charge forms that migrated to a more acidic pI than type III secreted ExoS but more basic than auto-ADP-ribosylated ExoS. Incubation of cell lysates with Mn(2+) shifted the pI of ExoS(E381D) to a pI identical to secreted ExoS. This indicates that within the mammalian cells ExoS undergoes a negatively charged modification, in addition to auto-ADP-ribosylation observed for wild-type ExoS. ExoT, ExoU, and YopE also focus into multiple pI forms, suggesting that this is a common property of type III cytotoxins.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of the GTP-binding domain of beta-tubulin.

Tubulin binds guanine nucleotides with high affinity and specificity. GTP, an allosteric effector of microtubule assembly, requires Mg2+ for its interaction with beta-tubulin and binds as the MgGTP complex. In contrast, GDP binding does not require Mg2+. The structural basis for this difference is not understood but may be of fundamental importance for microtubule assembly. We investigated the interaction of beta-tubulin with guanine nucleotides using site-directed mutagenesis. Acidic amino acid residues have been shown to interact with nucleotide in numerous nucleotide-binding proteins. In this study, we mutated seven highly conserved aspartic acid residues and one highly conserved glutamic acid residue in the putative GTP-binding domain of beta-tubulin (N-terminal 300 amino acids) to asparagine and glutamine, respectively. The mutants were synthesized in vitro using rabbit reticulocyte lysates, and their affinities for nucleotide determined by an h.p.l.c.-based assay. Our results indicate that the mutations can be placed in six separate categories on the basis of their effects on nucleotide binding. These categories range from having no effect on nucleotide binding to a mutation that apparently abolishes nucleotide binding. One mutation at Asp224 reduced the affinity of beta-tubulin for GTP in the presence but not in the absence of Mg2+. The specific effect of this mutation on nucleotide binding is consistent with an interaction of this amino acid with the Mg2+ moiety of MgGTP. This residue is in a region sharing sequence homology with the putative Mg2+ site in myosin and other ATP-binding proteins. As a result, tubulin belongs to a distinct class of GTP-binding proteins which may be evolutionarily related to the ATP-binding proteins.