Podcasts about t4ss

TWiM welcomes new host Petra Levin, and explains how a small protein helps ensure that E. coli utilizes a preferred carbon source, and a screening strategy to identify inhibitors of the type IV secretion system that is essential for virulence of a variety of bacterial pathogens. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode A small protein regulates carbon utilization (PNAS) Inhibitors of type IV secretion systems (mBio) Letters read on TWiM 262 TWiM Listener survey

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.10.30.342212v1?rss=1 Authors: Jaeger, F., Lamy, A., Guerini, N., Sun, W.-S., Berntsson, R. P.-A. Abstract: Multidrug resistant bacteria are one of the most important current threats to public health and a serious problem in hospital acquired infections (HAIs). Most antibiotic resistance genes are acquired via conjugative gene transfer, in a process that is mediated by a protein machinery called the Type 4 Secretion System (T4SS). The core of the T4SS is a multiprotein complex that spans both the cell wall and cellular membrane(s), serving as a channel for macromolecular secretion. Although the majority of multidrug resistant bacteria responsible for HAIs are of Gram-positive origin, with Enterococci being major contributors, mostly Gram-negative T4SSs have been characterized. Here we describe the structure and organisation of PrgL, one of the seven membrane proteins forming the translocation channel of the T4SS encoded by the pCF10 plasmid from Enterococcus faecalis. We present the structure of the C-terminal domain of PrgL, which displays similarity to VirB8 proteins of Gram-negative secretion systems. PrgL forms dimers and higher order oligomers but does not interact strongly with the other T4SS components. In vitro experiments show that the soluble domain alone is enough to drive both dimerization and dodecamerisation, with a dimerization interface that differs from all other known VirB8-like proteins. Our findings provide insight into the molecular building blocks of Gram-positive T4SS, highlighting similarities but also unique features in PrgL compared to other VirB8-like proteins. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

The genus Legionella consists of environmental bacteria which are the causative agents of the severe pneumonia Legionnaires’ disease. L. longbeachae and L. pneumophila are able to replicate intracellularly in human alveolar macrophages and aquatic or soil amoebae. In order to replicate within host cells the bacteria establish a compartment derived from the endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) which is called “Legionella-containing vacuole” (LCV). A bacterial intracellular multiplication/defective in organelle transport (Icm/Dot) type IV secretion system (T4SS) is essential for the formation of this LCV. The Icm/Dot T4SS enables translocation of effector proteins into the host cell. More than 100 effector proteins are presumably translocated during an L. longbeachae infection whereas around 300 translocated effector proteins are known for L. pneumophila. During maturation the LCV communicates with vesicles from the endocytic vesicle trafficking pathway, avoids fusion with lysosomes and instead fuses with the ER. Phosphoinositides (PI) such as phosphatitdylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns(4)P) are enriched on the LCV which mediate the binding of Icm/Dot translocated effector proteins like SidCLpn (substrate of Icm/Dot transporter) as well as its paralogous protein SdcALpn. The 73 kDa effector SidM but not the 106 kDa SidCLpn was found in a previous phosphoinositide pulldown assay with L. pneumophila lysate to be the major PtdIns(4)P binding protein. Using L. longbeachae lysate we showed binding of the 111 kDa SidCLlo to PtdIns(4)P in a phosphoinositide pulldown. This result was confirmed by protein-lipid overlay assays using “PIP-strips”. In further analysis the P4C (PtdIns(4)P-binding of SidC) domain was identified as a 19 kDa domain of SidCLlo located in the amino acid region 609 to 782. This P4C domain was located in the same region as the 20 kDa SidCLpn_P4C domain of L. pneumophila. Both P4C domains can be used as LCV markers. This was shown with GST-tagged proteins binding to LCVs in a cell homogenate. The two P4C domains show a sequence identity of only 45% and the full-length protein of 40%. Circular dichroism measurements revealed that the secondary structure of the two proteins is similar. Moreover, isothermal titration calorimetric measurements indicated a 3.4 higher affinity of SidCLlo towards PtdIns(4)P compared with SidCLpn. In RAW 264.7 macrophages infected with L. longbeachae we showed that endogenous SidCLlo as well as heterologously produced SidCLpn is translocated to the LCV in an Icm/Dot-dependent manner. The deletion of the sidCLlo gene led to a reduced recruitment of calnexin to the LCV in infected Dictyostelium discoideum. This effect was complemented by adding plasmid-encoded SidCLlo, SidCLpn or SdcALpn. The same recruitment defect for a L. pneumophila strain lacking the sidCLpn and sdcALpn genes was complemented by the production of SidCLlo and SidCLpn as published before. Therefore, these effectors play a role for pathogen-host interactions by promoting the recruitment of ER to the LCV. L. longbeachae or L. pneumophila wild-type strains outcompeted their sidC deletion mutant in a competition assay in Acanthamoeba castellanii. However neither of the deletion mutants were impaired in their growth in single strain replication experiments. In summary despite of the small sequence identity and the higher binding affinity to PtdIns(4)P of SidCLlo compared to SidCLpn both effector proteins seem to have similar functions during an infection of Legionella. For the characterization of L. longbeachae-containing vacuoles through proteomic analysis, LCVs had to be isolated from infected D. discoideum or RAW 264.7 macrophages. Endogenous SidCLlo or heterologously produced SidCLpn were used as LCV markers for the isolation. Pathogen vacuoles harbouring L. longbeachae were isolated by immuno-affinity purification using antibodies specifically recognizing SidCLlo or SidCLpn. Future investigations aim at optimizing the LCV purification protocol for L. longbeachae to determine the proteome composition of the L. longbeachae-containing vacuole.

The Gram-negative bacterium Legionella pneumophila naturally parasitises environmental amoebae, but is also able to infect human alveolar macrophages in a mechanistically similar manner. This can result in the mild "Pontiac fever", a flu-like illness, or a potentially lethal pneumonia termed Legionnaires' disease". Crucial for establishing an intracellular replication niche is the Icm/Dot type IV secretion system (T4SS), which translocates approximately 300 different "effector" proteins into the host cell. These substrates enhance uptake efficiency into phagocytes and direct formation of a replication-permissive compartment, called the Legionella-containing vacuole (LCV), and ultimately the egress of the bacteria. Some of the effectors interfere with small GTPases, phosphoinositide metabolism or the ubiquitination machinery, and modulate host cell signalling and vesicle trafficking. We developed a method to isolate intact LCVs by using immuno-magnetic separation with an LCV-specific antibody followed by density gradient centrifugation. Proteomic analysis of the purified phagosomes together with findings of previous studies showed, that the vacuoles harbour markers of the endosomal network, associate with mitochondria, early secretory vesicles and the endoplasmic reticulum, but avoid fusion with lysosomes. Our investigations of the novel L. pneumophila effector RidL revealed that the LCV also communicates with the retrograde vesicle trafficking pathway of infected cells. This pathway recycles amongst others acid-hydrolase receptors, such as the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor (CIMPR), from the tubular endosomal network back to the trans-Golgi. This transport requires the multiprotein "retromer" complex, which consists of two major subunits: the heterotrimeric cargo-selective subcomplex comprising the proteins Vps26, Vps29 and Vps35 and the membrane-deforming heterodimeric subcomplex composed of any combination of the phosphoinositide (PI)-binding sorting nexins SNX1 or SNX2 plus SNX5 or SNX6. Pull-down experiments with lysates of RAW 264.7 macrophages or D. discoideum amoebae revealed Vps26, Vps29 and Vps35 to be retained by the then uncharacterised protein RidL, which represented an intriguing, novel effector interaction. Like most T4SS substrate mutants, L. pneumophila lacking ridL showed no phenotype for growth in liquid AYE medium and uptake into phagocytes compared to wild-type bacteria. However, intracellular replication was strongly impaired for the mutant strain in several host cell lines. RidL is preferentially expressed in the late post-exponential growth phase and translocated in an T4SS-dependent manner at early time-points of the infection, suggesting a role shortly after the uptake of the bacteria. The effector exhibited a bipolar localisation on the LCV membrane, but upon overexpression the protein covered the entire vacuole. Interestingly, RidL bound the lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P), a known eukaryotic endosomal membrane anchor, and also specifically bound to the retromer subunit Vps29. Although the protein had no effect on the acquisition of Vps26, Vps29 and Vps35, the percentage of LCVs positive for the retrograde cargo receptors CIMPR or sortilin was reduced in presence of RidL, suggesting interference with the retrograde transport pathway. Furthermore, significantly less SNX1- and SNX2-positive LCVs were detected in cells infected with wild-type L. pneumophila compared to the ridL mutant strain. Moreover, RidL competed with SNX1 for binding at PtdIns(3)P-positive membranes. To directly examine the influence of RidL on retrograde trafficking, the retromer-dependent transport of cholera and Shiga toxin inside cells was analysed in macrophages infected with wild-type or ridL L. pneumophila, and in HeLa cells ectopically producing RidL, respectively. In both cases, the trafficking was inhibited by RidL, and for cholera toxin the transport was arrested at the endosomal stage. In line with these findings, siRNA knockdown experiments revealed that a functional retrograde pathway restricted intracellular growth of L. pneumophila. Taken together, we postulate that RidL (Retromer interactor decorating LCVs) inhibits retrograde trafficking at endosomes by binding to the retromer subunit Vps26 and/or by competition with sorting nexins, thus promoting intracellular replication of L. pneumophila. Collectively, the results obtained in this thesis shed light on the host factor composition of LCVs and provide mechanistic insights into a novel L. pneumophila effector protein.

Many Helicobacter pylori (Hp) strains carry cryptic plasmids of different size and gene content, the function of which is not well understood. A subgroup of these plasmids (e.g. pHel4, pHel12), contain a mobilisation region, but no cognate type IV secretion system (T4SS) for conjugative transfer. Instead, certain H. pylori strains (e.g. strain P12 carrying plasmid pHel12) can harbour up to four T4SSs in their genome (cag-T4SS, comB, tfs3, tfs4). Here, we show that such indigenous plasmids can be efficiently transferred between H. pylori strains, even in the presence of extracellular DNaseI eliminating natural transformation. Knockout of a plasmid-encoded mobA relaxase gene significantly reduced plasmid DNA transfer in the presence of DNaseI, suggesting a DNA conjugation or mobilisation process. To identify the T4SS involved in this conjugative DNA transfer, each individual T4SS was consecutively deleted from the bacterial chromosome. Using a marker-free counterselectable gene deletion procedure (rpsL counterselection method), a P12 mutant strain was finally obtained with no single T4SS (P12ΔT4SS). Mating experiments using these mutants identified the comB T4SS in the recipient strain as the major mediator of plasmid DNA transfer between H. pylori strains, both in a DNaseI-sensitive (natural transformation) as well as a DNaseI-resistant manner (conjugative transfer). However, transfer of a pHel12::cat plasmid from a P12ΔT4SS donor strain into a P12ΔT4SS recipient strain provided evidence for the existence of a third, T4SS-independent mechanism of DNA transfer. This novel type of plasmid DNA transfer, designated as alternate DNaseI-Resistant (ADR) mechanism, is observed at a rather low frequency under in vitro conditions. Taken together, our study describes for the first time the existence of three distinct pathways of plasmid DNA transfer between H. pylori underscoring the importance of horizontal gene transfer for this species.

H. pylori kolonisiert die Magenmukosa von etwa 50% der Bevölkerung und ist die Ursache von vielen schweren Erkrankungen, wie z.B. chronischer Gastritis, Magengeschwüren und Magenkrebs. Lange Zeit wurde angenommen, dass das Milieu des Magens aufgrund der dort herrschenden Bedingungen steril sei. H. pylori hat Strategien entwickelt, um dieses Habitat zu besiedeln und stellt den dominierenden Bestandteil der Mikroflora im Magen dar. Eine entscheidende Voraussetzung für die erfolgreiche Kolonisierung ist die genetische Diversität und die damit verbundene Anpassung an die verschiedenen Mikronischen des Magens. Die Pathogenität von H. pylori wird nicht nur durch Toxine vermittelt, sondern resultiert aus der komplexen Interaktion zwischen dem Bakterium, dem Wirt und der Umwelt. Eine wichtige Bedeutung hierbei hat der Austausch von genetischem Material. Während die natürliche Kompetenz eine entscheidende Rolle für die Aufnahme von genetischem Material spielt, wird auch ein konjugativer Mechanismus zum Transfer von DNA diskutiert. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde erstmals der DNaseI-resistente Transfer der intrinsischen, kryptischen Plasmide pHel4 und pHel12 zwischen H. pylori-Stämmen nachgewiesen. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass für diesen Mechanismus sowohl die Plasmid-, als auch die chromosomal-kodierten Relaxasen nicht essentiell sind. Möglicherweise wird die Rezirkularisierung der Plasmid-DNA im Rezipienten durch RecA durchgeführt. Um Informationen über die Maschinerie, welche den DNaseI-geschützten Transfer der intrinsischen Plasmide vermittelt zu erhalten, wurden alle in H. pylori P12 identifizierten T4SS mit Hilfe einer Kontraselektionsstrategie sequentiell deletiert und Kokultivierungsexperimente mit den entsprechenden Mutanten durchgeführt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass außer dem ComB-System keines der T4SS für den DNA-Transfer zwischen H. pylori-Stämmen essentiell ist. Dieses ist für die Aufnahme von DNA im Rezipienten verantwortlich und spielt auch eine Rolle für den DNA-Export durch den Donor. Das ComB-System stellt somit das entscheidende T4SS für den Transfer von DNA dar und hat eine duale Funktion hinsichtlich Transformation und einem Konjugations-ähnlichen Mechanismus im Donor und Rezipienten. Bemerkenswert ist, dass auch nach Deletion aller T4SS in H. pylori P12 DNA-Transfer stattfindet. Mögliche Kandidaten für einen alternativen DNA-Übertragungsweg, stellen Membranvesikel dar. Darüber hinaus konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass Tfs4 Plasmid-DNA in das umgebende Milieu sekretiert. Durch die Sekretion des Modul-artig aufgebauten kryptischen Plasmids pHel12 kann die Verbreitung von genetischem Material zwischen Stämmen unterstützt werden. Die Unabhängigkeit des DNA-Transfermechanismus von den Relaxasen, sowie die Resistenz gegenüber dem Angriff durch DNaseI lassen einen neuartigen, Konjugations-ähnlichen DNA-Transfermechanismus vermuten, der von der konventionellen Konjugation abgrenzt werden kann. Neben der Charakterisierung der DNA-Transfer-Mechanismen in H. pylori P12 wurden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit auch die kryptischen Plasmide pHel4 und pHel12 und die mögliche Funktion ihrer Genprodukte untersucht. Etwa 50% aller klinischen Isolate enthalten kryptische Plasmide. Ihre Funktion ist bisher allerdings nicht klar. Die Anwesenheit einer mob-Region deutete auf eine konjugative Übertragung der Plasmide hin. Darüber hinaus lässt die Struktur der Plasmide eine Rolle bei der Verbreitung von genetischem Material als Orte des „gene shufflings“ vermuten. Zudem konnten erste Hinweise bezüglich der mit den Plasmiden verbundenen Zytotoxizität bestätigt werden. So beeinflusst die Expression von orf4M aus pHel4 und orf12M aus pHel12 in eukaryotischen Zellen die zelluläre Integrität und führt schließlich zum Zelltod. Die kryptischen Plasmide stellen eine interessante Möglichkeit für H. pylori dar, genetische Information auszutauschen und möglicherweise die Wirtszelle zu beeinflussen.

Translocation of the Helicobacter pylori (Hp) cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) effector protein via the cag-Type IV Secretion System (T4SS) into host cells is a major risk factor for severe gastric diseases, including gastric cancer. However, the mechanism of translocation and the requirements from the host cell for that event are not well understood. The T4SS consists of inner- and outer membrane-spanning Cag protein complexes and a surface-located pilus. Previously an arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD)-dependent typical integrin/ligand type interaction of CagL with alpha5beta1 integrin was reported to be essential for CagA translocation. Here we report a specific binding of the T4SS-pilus-associated components CagY and the effector protein CagA to the host cell beta1 Integrin receptor. Surface plasmon resonance measurements revealed that CagA binding to alpha5beta1 integrin is rather strong (dissociation constant, K(D) of 0.15 nM), in comparison to the reported RGD-dependent integrin/fibronectin interaction (K(D) of 15 nM). For CagA translocation the extracellular part of the beta1 integrin subunit is necessary, but not its cytoplasmic domain, nor downstream signalling via integrin-linked kinase. A set of beta1 integrin-specific monoclonal antibodies directed against various defined beta1 integrin epitopes, such as the PSI, the I-like, the EGF or the beta-tail domain, were unable to interfere with CagA translocation. However, a specific antibody (9EG7), which stabilises the open active conformation of beta1 integrin heterodimers, efficiently blocked CagA translocation. Our data support a novel model in which the cag-T4SS exploits the beta1 integrin receptor by an RGD-independent interaction that involves a conformational switch from the open (extended) to the closed (bent) conformation, to initiate effector protein translocation.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori, carrying a functional cag type IV secretion system (cag-T4SS) to inject the Cytotoxin associated antigen (CagA) into gastric cells, is associated with an increased risk for severe gastric diseases in humans. Here we studied the pathomechanism of H. pylori and the role of the cag-pathogenicity island (cag-PAI) for the induction of gastric ulcer and precancerous conditions over time (2-64 weeks) using the Mongolian gerbil model. Animals were challenged with H. pylori B128 (WT), or an isogenic B128DeltacagY mutant-strain that produces CagA, but is unable to translocate it into gastric cells. H. pylori colonization density was quantified in antrum and corpus mucosa separately. Paraffin sections were graded for inflammation and histological changes verified by immunohistochemistry. Physiological and inflammatory markers were quantitated by RIA and RT-PCR, respectively. An early cag-T4SS-dependent inflammation of the corpus mucosa (4-8 weeks) occurred only in WT-infected animals, resulting in a severe active and chronic gastritis with a significant increase of proinflammatory cytokines, mucous gland metaplasia, and atrophy of the parietal cells. At late time points only WT-infected animals developed hypochlorhydria and hypergastrinemia in parallel to gastric ulcers, gastritis cystica profunda, and focal dysplasia. The early cag-PAI-dependent immunological response triggers later physiological and histopathological alterations towards gastric malignancies.