Interaction of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae with human complement factor H

PspC recruits complement factor H (FH) to the pneumococcal surface. While there is differential expression of pspC during infection, detection of PspC on the surface of viable pneumococci is difficult due to variability among PspCs. We analyzed FH binding to detect PspC expression on the surface of pneumococcal isolates from different pathological sources. Using flow cytometry, we investigated FH-binding to 89 low-passage clinical isolates classified by disease manifestation (systemic, mucosal, or carriage). Carriage isolates recruited significantly more FH to their surfaces than either systemic or mucosal isolates, and this binding was independent of capsular serotype.     

The Thermoplasma acidophilum LplA-LplB Complex Defines a New Class of Bipartite Lipoate-protein Ligases

Lipoic acid is a covalently bound cofactor found throughout the domains of life that is required for aerobic metabolism of 2-oxoacids and for C₁ metabolism. Utilization of exogenous lipoate is catalyzed by a ligation reaction that proceeds via a lipoyl-adenylate intermediate to attach the cofactor to the ϵ-amino group of a conserved lysine residue of protein lipoyl domains. The lipoyl ligases of demonstrated function have a large N-terminal catalytic domain and a small C-terminal accessory domain. Half of the members of the LplA family detected in silico have only the large catalytic domain. Two x-ray structures of the Thermoplasma acidophilum LplA structure have been reported, although the protein was reported to lack ligase activity. McManus et al. (McManus, E., Luisi, B. F., and Perham, R. N. (2006) J. Mol. Biol. 356, 625–637) hypothesized that the product of an adjacent gene was also required for ligase activity. We have shown this to be the case and have named the second protein, LplB. We found that complementation of Escherichia coli strains lacking lipoate ligase with T. acidophilum LplA was possible only when LplB was also present. LplA had no detectable ligase activity in vitro in the absence of LplB. Moreover LplA and LplB were shown to interact and were purified as a heterodimer. LplB was required for lipoyl-adenylate formation but was not required for transfer of the lipoyl moiety of lipoyl-adenylate to acceptor proteins. Surveys of sequenced genomes show that most lipoyl ligases of the kingdom Archaea are heterodimeric. We propose that the presence of an accessory domain provides a diagnostic to distinguish lipoyl ligase homologues from other members of the lipoate/biotin attachment enzyme family.Lipoic acid is a covalently bound cofactor that conveys activated reaction intermediates between different active sites of multienzyme complexes (1). Lipoate is essential for aerobic metabolism of 2-oxoacids and for glycine cleavage. In its active form lipoate is attached to the ϵ-amino group of a small (∼80-residue) well conserved lipoyl domain (LD)² lysine residue via an amide bond. LDs are typically found at the N termini of the E2 subunits of 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes. In the 2-oxoacid complexes, lipoylated LD receives the decarboxylated acid from the E1 subunit active site in thioester linkage to a lipoate thiol. The acyl thioester is then converted to the corresponding CoA thioester by thioester exchange catalyzed by the E2 subunit active site. The dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase subunit (E3) then oxidizes the dihydrolipoyl-LD back to the lipoyl-LD to reset the catalytic cycle. In the glycine cleavage (also called glycine decarboxylase and glycine dehydrogenase) system, the lipoyl domain exists as a free protein designated H. Lipoyl-LD receives the product of glycine decarboxylation, methylamine, from the P protein. The methylamine is then transferred to the T protein to produce methylenetetrahydrofolate that is typically used to synthesize serine from a second molecule of glycine. In Escherichia coli, lipoic acid is essential for aerobic growth because of the need for pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. The glycine cleavage system is not required for growth of wild type E. coli strains but is required for growth of Arabidopsis where the H protein can be present at millimolar concentrations in photosynthetic cells (2).The reactions whereby lipoic acid-modified proteins are produced are best understood in E. coli. The most straightforward pathway is via lipoate-protein ligase, an activity first described by L. J. Reed et al. (3) (see Fig. 1). These workers postulated that lipoate was attached to protein by a two-step ATP-dependent reaction with lipoyl-AMP as an activated intermediate (Fig. 1). Although the lipoate-protein ligases were key reagents in demonstration of the role of lipoic acid in the 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase reactions (3, 4), the protein was not purified to homogeneity, and thus the proposed mechanism could not be considered proved. The E. coli lplA gene was the first gene encoding a lipoate-protein ligase isolated, and LplA was the first such ligase purified to homogeneity (5, 6). The isolation of null mutants in lplA showed that LplA does not play a role in de novo lipoic acid synthesis but rather acts to scavenge lipoic acid from the environment (6, 7).Open in a separate windowFIGURE 1.Lipoic acid metabolism in E. coli. Panel A, the lipoyl ligase (LplA) reaction that proceeds through the lipoyl-adenylate intermediate. In E. coli LplA acts to scavenge lipoic acid from the growth medium. Panel B, schematic of lipoic acid synthesis in E. coli. LipB transfers an octanoyl moiety from the fatty acid biosynthetic intermediate, octanoyl-acyl carrier protein, to the LD domain of a lipoate-accepting protein (in this case the E2 subunit of a 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase). The octanoylated LD domain is the substrate of LipA, an S-adenosylmethionine radical enzyme that replaces one hydrogen atom on each of octanoate carbons 6 and 8 with sulfur atoms. Panel C, the differing arrangements of genes and domains found in lipoate ligases in T. acidophilum, E. coli, and Streptomyces coelicolor. Only a single nucleotide lies between the T. acidophilum LplB and LplA coding sequences.LplA is a 38-kDa monomeric protein (5). Assays with a fully defined system have demonstrated that LplA plus lipoate and Mg-ATP are sufficient to reconstitute lipoylation in vitro and that lipoyl-AMP is a reaction intermediate (5, 6, 8, 9). Thus, it is clear that LplA catalyzes both the ATP-dependent activation of lipoate to lipoyl-AMP as well as the transfer of this activated lipoyl species to apoprotein with concomitant release of AMP. The E. coli LplA enzyme has been shown to be capable of utilizing lipoate and several lipoate analogues such as octanoate as donors for the post-translational modification of E2 apoproteins in vivo (5, 6).Recently crystal structures of E. coli LplA and of LplA homologues have been reported including an E. coli LplA-lipoic acid complex (10–12). The reported structures of the unliganded proteins agree well and show E. coli LplA to be a two-domain protein consisting of a large N-terminal domain and a small C-terminal domain (Figs. 1 and ​and2).2). However, the E. coli LplA-lipoic acid complex is difficult to interpret because lipoic acid molecules were heterogeneously bound to LplA molecules within the crystals and were poorly resolved. In one case the lipoic acid carboxyl was hydrogen-bonded to Ser-72, whereas in another case Arg-140 was the hydrogen bond donor (10). Because enzymes rarely show such plasticity and lipoic acid is a hydrophobic molecule, it seemed possible that the observed association of the cofactor with a hydrophobic LplA surface in the interdomain cavity was artifactual. Moreover in prior work K. E. Reed et al. (13) had isolated LplA mutants resistant to inhibition by an analogue of lipoic acid in which the sulfur atoms had been replaced with selenium. Because this is a very discrete modification of the LplA substrate, the mutant protein would be expected to have an alteration close to the pocket that binds the lipoic acid thiolane ring. However, the site of this mutation (Gly-76 to serine (7)) was distal from the lipoate binding site reported. This dilemma was resolved by two lipoic acid-containing structures of an LplA homologue from the archaeon Thermoplasma acidophilum (11, 12) that can be readily superimposed on the E. coli LplA structure except that the T. acidophilum protein lacks the E. coli LplA C-terminal domain (Fig. 2). In both T. acidophilum structures the lipoate thiolane ring was adjacent to the glycine residue that corresponds to E. coli Gly-76, the residue giving resistance to the selenium analogue, and a plausible reorganization of the molecule to prevent binding of the slightly larger analogue was proposed (12). Moreover addition of lipoic acid to a complex of the T. acidophilum LplA with ATP gave lipoyl-AMP showing that the lipoic acid was bound in a physiologically meaningful manner (11). The lipoyl-AMP was bound in a U-shaped pocket and was well shielded from solvent. Thus, it seems that the locations of the lipoate moieties in the two T. acidophilum LplA structures indicate that these represent catalytically competent lipoate binding sites (rather than the sites of E. coli LplA where lipoate bound). A caveat was that the T. acidophilum LplA was inactive in catalysis of the overall LplA reaction (12). Because T. acidophilum LplA lacks the C-terminal domain (CTD) of E. coli LplA (11, 12), this suggested that the missing domain was required for activity, and a second protein was proposed to interact with T. acidophilum LplA to allow the complete reaction (12). If this were the case, the T. acidophilum lipoyl ligase would provide an unusually facile system to investigate the role of the CTD in lipoate-protein ligases.Open in a separate windowFIGURE 2.Structural alignments of LplA and LipB structures. Previously published crystal structures were aligned using DeepView (37). Panel A, E. coli LplA (Protein Data Bank code 1X2H in green) aligned with T. acidophilum LplA (Protein Data Bank code 2ART in orange). The lipoyl-adenylate intermediate bound to T. acidophilum LplA is shown in purple. The adenylate binding loop is indicated with an arrow. Panel B, M. tuberculosis LipB (Protein Data Bank code 1W66 in gray) is aligned with the E. coli LplA structure of panel A. The purple line denotes the covalent decanoate adduct present in the M. tuberculosis LipB structure. The substrate binding pocket is conserved among members of the protein family. The accessory domain is not part of the binding pocket and appears to play an indirect role in catalysis.If the lipoate-protein ligase reaction can be catalyzed by a heteromeric protein this may allow better discrimination of lipoyl ligases from acyl carrier protein:protein octanoyltransferases. In E. coli de novo lipoic acid biosynthesis is accomplished by two enzymes, the LipB octanoyltransferase and the LipA lipoyl synthase (14) (Fig. 1). LipB transfers the octanoate moiety from the octanoyl-acyl carrier protein intermediate of fatty acid biosynthesis to the ϵ-amine of the conserved LD lysine residue resulting in amide-linked octanoate (Fig. 1). LipA then catalyzes replacement of a hydrogen atom on each of octanoate carbons 6 and 8 with sulfur atoms derived from a LipA iron-sulfur center via an S-adenosylmethionine-dependent radical mechanism (14, 15). That is, lipoic acid is assembled on its cognate proteins (16).Although the two classes of LD-modifying enzymes, LplA and LipB, show very low amino acid sequence conservation and utilize different chemistries, the proteins surprisingly show structural conservation and have related active site architectures (17, 18) (Fig. 2). The Mycobacterium tuberculosis LipB and T. acidophilum LplA can be superimposed by using all matching Cα positions with a root mean square deviation of ≈2.5 Å with good topological matching of most secondary structural elements (18). Hence in length and structure LipBs resemble LplAs that lack the C-terminal domain. Although the E. coli LipB and LplA sequences align very poorly, a large number of proteins in the data bases have similarities to both proteins, and therefore annotation of a given protein as a ligase or octanoyltransferase is not straightforward. If an LplA CTD can be a separate protein, an additional criterion to distinguish lipoate ligases and octanoyltransferases would be available. It should be noted that biotin ligases also show structural (but not sequence) conservation with LipB and LplA, and this group of proteins comprises the Pfam family PF03099 (19). However, all known biotin ligases have a C-terminal domain that greatly aids in their annotation. We report that, as predicted by McManus et al. (12), the CTD function essential for lipoate-protein ligase activity is encoded by a gene located immediately upstream of T. acidophilum lplA that we call lplB.     

The Membrane-Proximal KXGFFKR Motif of α-Integrin Mediates Chemoresistance

Cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance contributes to minimal residual disease and relapse in hematological malignancies. Here, we show that adhesion of Jurkat T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells to substrates engaging α4β1-integrin or α5β1-integrin promotes chemoresistance to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Reconstituted expression of α4δ, a truncated α4-integrin with KXGFFKR as the cytoplasmic motif, in α4-deficient cells promoted chemoresistance to doxorubicin in a manner independent of α4-mediated adhesion. The adhesion-independent chemoresistance did not require β1-integrin as the heterodimeric pair, since expression of Tacδ, a monomeric nonintegrin transmembrane protein fused to the juxtamembrane KXGFFKR, was sufficient to reproduce the phenomenon. The requirement for integrin-mediated adhesion in stimulation of Akt phosphorylation and activation was bypassed for cells expressing α4δ and Tacδ. Cells expressing α4δ and Tacδ exhibited a high influx of extracellular Ca²⁺, and inhibition of Ca²⁺ channels with verapamil attenuated the adhesion-independent chemoresistance. Tacδ cells also exhibited greater rates of drug efflux. α4δ and Tacδ interacted with the Ca²⁺-binding protein calreticulin, in a manner dependent on the KXGFFKR motif. Adhesion-mediated engagement of α4-integrins promoted an increased calreticulin-α4 association and greater influx of extracellular Ca²⁺ than in nonadherent cells. The α-integrin KXGFFKR motif is involved in adhesion-mediated control of chemoresistance in T cells.     

Diet of an invading clupeid along an urban neotropical reservoir: responses to different environmental conditions

The river plate sprat Platanichthys platana (Regan, 1917) is a small clupeid fish of South American fresh and brackish waters which was introduced outside of its native range, becoming widespread in the Billings Complex, a highly eutrophic urban reservoir located in the metropolitan area of São Paulo city, Upper Tietê River Basin (São Paulo State, Brazil). To better understand some aspects related to the invasion of this species in the reservoir, we assessed its diet through the analysis of stomach contents, niche breadth and feeding selectivity. Simultaneously to fish catches, zooplankton samples were collected at three reservoir arms with different anthropic influences during the dry and rainy seasons of 2014. Zooplankton diversity and dominance varied between sites, while composition at the genus level was similar. Sprat fed predominantly on zooplankton (68.3%), consuming a broad diversity of prey (Bosmina, Lecane , Chydoridae, Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida copepods), which were selectively predated. Consumed species varied according to site, season and fish size, with Cladocera being dominant at the most eutrophic site (Bororé). Considering spatial differences in the consumed zooplankton, the analysis of percentage similarity (SIMPER) indicated the highest dissimilarity (95.3%) between the Bororé (hypereutrophic) and Grande River Reservoir (supereutrophic) sites, while trophic niche width increased from the most impacted (Bororé) to the most preserved site (Capivari). The high captures of the sprat in the Billings Complex reported by local fishermen, indicated the adaptability of this invasive fish to the new habitat, suggesting that it may possess a central role as the dominant zooplankton predator in the system.     

Apolipoprotein C3 SstI polymorphism and triglyceride levels in Asian Indians

Background  

A close association between Sst I polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region of the apolipoproteinC3 (APOC3 ) gene and levels of plasma triglycerides (TG) had been reported by different investigators. Hypertriglyceridemia(HTG) is a known risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) in the context of Asian Indians. We conducted a study on the relationship between APOC3 SstI polymorphism (S1S1, S1S2 and S2S2 genotypes) and plasma TG levels in a group of 139 male healthy volunteers from Northern India.     

Binding thermodynamics of substituted diaminopyrimidine renin inhibitors

Renin is an aspartyl protease involved in the production of angiotensin II, a potent vasoconstrictor. Renin inhibitors can prevent blood vessel constriction and therefore could be useful for the treatment of hypertension. High-throughput screening efforts identified a small molecule renin inhibitor with a core substituted diaminopyrimidine ring. Parallel medicinal chemistry efforts based on this lead resulted in compound 1. A complex of 1 bound to renin was crystallized, and structural data were obtained by X-ray diffraction. The structure indicated that there were adjacent unoccupied binding pockets. Synthetic efforts were initiated to extend functionality into these pockets so as to improve affinity and adjust pharmacokinetic parameters. Thermodynamics data for inhibitor binding to renin were also collected using isothermal titration calorimetry. These data were used to help guide inhibitor optimization by suggesting molecular alterations to improve binding affinity from both thermodynamic and structural perspectives. The addition of a methoxypropyl group extending into the S3 subpocket improved inhibitor affinity and resulted in greater binding enthalpy. Initial additions to the pyrimidine ring template that extended into the large hydrophobic S2 pocket did not improve affinity and dramatically altered the thermodynamic driving force for the binding interaction. Binding of the core template was enthalpically driven, whereas binding of initial inhibitors with S2 extensions was both enthalpically and entropically driven but lost significant binding enthalpy. Additional electrostatic interactions were then incorporated into the S2 extension to improve binding enthalpy while taking advantage of the favorable entropy.     

Complex Evolutionary and Genetic Patterns Characterize the Loss of Scleral Ossification in the Blind Cavefish Astyanax mexicanus

The sclera is the tough outer covering of the eye that provides structural support and helps maintain intraocular pressure. In some fishes, reptiles, and birds, the sclera is reinforced with an additional ring of hyaline cartilage or bone that forms from scleral ossicles. Currently, the evolutionary and genetic basis of scleral ossification is poorly understood, especially in teleost fishes. We assessed scleral ossification among several groups of the Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus), which exhibit both an eyed and eyeless morph. Although eyed Astyanax surface fish have bony sclera similar to other teleosts, the ossicles of blind Astyanax cavefish generally do not form. We first sampled cavefish from multiple independent populations and used ancestral character state reconstructions to determine how many times scleral ossification has been lost. We then confirmed these results by assessing complementation of scleral ossification among the F₁ hybrid progeny of two cavefish populations. Finally, we quantified the number of scleral ossicles present among the F₂ hybrid progeny of a cross between surface fish and cavefish, and used this information to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for this trait. Our results indicate that the loss of scleral ossification is common–but not ubiquitous–among Astyanax cavefish, and that this trait has been convergently lost at least three times. The presence of wild-type, ossified sclera among the F₁ hybrid progeny of a cross between different cavefish populations confirms the convergent evolution of this trait. However, a strongly skewed distribution of scleral ossicles found among surface fish x cavefish F₂ hybrids suggests that scleral ossification is a threshold trait with a complex genetic basis. Quantitative genetic mapping identified a single QTL for scleral ossification on Astyanax linkage group 1. We estimate that the threshold for this trait is likely determined by at least three genetic factors which may control the severity and onset of lens degeneration in cavefishes. We conclude that complex evolutionary and genetic patterns underlie the loss of scleral ossification in Astyanax cavefish.     

The MUC3 gene encodes a transmembrane mucin and is alternatively spliced.

Epithelial mucins are a family of secreted and cell surface glycoproteins expressed by epithelial tissues and implicated in epithelial cell protection, adhesion modulation and signaling. The gene encoding human MUC3 (hMUC3), localised to chromosome 7q22, is most highly expressed in the small intestine. It has previously been reported to be a non-transmembrane mucin with minimal homology to its suggested orthologues from rat (rMuc3) and mouse (mMuc3). RT-PCR was performed to investigate the carboxyl terminus of the published sequence of hMUC3 from normal colon and small intestine tissues and also from a series of 10 colorectal cancer cell lines. Two distinct PCR products were identified. In contrast to the previously published hMUC3 sequence, which terminates shortly after a single cysteine-rich EGF-like domain, conceptual protein translation of the dominant and largest PCR product identified two extracellular cysteine-rich EGF-like domains separated by an N-glycosylation-rich domain and a potential coiled-coil region, followed by a putative transmembrane region and a 75 amino acid cytoplasmic tail. The smaller of the two PCR products was found to be an alternative splice variant of MUC3 including the first EGF-like domain but lacking part of the second EGF-like domain and the transmembrane region. Nine out of 10 colorectal cancer cell lines were found to express MUC3. Interestingly, one of the cell lines, LoVo, expressed predominantly the alternative splice form lacking a transmembrane domain. Structural homology of the new protein sequence of hMUC3 with rMuc3 and mMuc3 indicates it is closely related to the rodent proteins and is likely to be involved in ligand-binding and intracellular signaling. The new finding that MUC3 encodes a transmembrane molecule presents a new paradigm for the structure of this mucin and the manner in which it may function.