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Zhou Y, Yan K, Qin Q, Raimi OG, Du C, Wang B, Ahamefule CS, Kowalski B, Jin C, van Aalten DMF, Fang W. Phosphoglucose Isomerase Is Important for Aspergillus fumigatus Cell Wall Biogenesis. mBio 2022; 13:e0142622. [PMID: 35913157 PMCID: PMC9426556 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01426-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a devastating opportunistic fungal pathogen causing hundreds of thousands of deaths every year. Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) is a glycolytic enzyme that converts glucose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, a key precursor of fungal cell wall biosynthesis. Here, we demonstrate that the growth of A. fumigatus is repressed by the deletion of pgi, which can be rescued by glucose and fructose supplementation in a 1:10 ratio. Even under these optimized growth conditions, the Δpgi mutant exhibits severe cell wall defects, retarded development, and attenuated virulence in Caenorhabditis elegans and Galleria mellonella infection models. To facilitate exploitation of A. fumigatus PGI as an antifungal target, we determined its crystal structure, revealing potential avenues for developing inhibitors, which could potentially be used as adjunctive therapy in combination with other systemic antifungals. IMPORTANCE Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen causing deadly infections in immunocompromised patients. Enzymes essential for fungal survival and cell wall biosynthesis are considered potential drug targets against A. fumigatus. PGI catalyzes the second step of the glycolysis pathway, linking glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. As such, PGI has been widely considered as a target for metabolic regulation and therefore a therapeutic target against hypoxia-related diseases. Our study here reveals that PGI is important for A. fumigatus survival and exhibit pleiotropic functions, including development, cell wall glucan biosynthesis, and virulence. We also solved the crystal structure of PGI, thus providing the genetic and structural groundwork for the exploitation of PGI as a potential antifungal target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Zhou
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Kaizhou Yan
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundeegrid.8241.f, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Qijian Qin
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Olawale G. Raimi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundeegrid.8241.f, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Chao Du
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Bin Wang
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Bartosz Kowalski
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundeegrid.8241.f, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Cheng Jin
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Wenxia Fang
- Guangxi Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciencesgrid.418329.5, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
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Ma J, Wu C, Hart GW. Analytical and Biochemical Perspectives of Protein O-GlcNAcylation. Chem Rev 2021; 121:1513-1581. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junfeng Ma
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. 20057, United States
| | - Ci Wu
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. 20057, United States
| | - Gerald W. Hart
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
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Zhao L, Shah JA, Cai Y, Jin J. ' O-GlcNAc Code' Mediated Biological Functions of Downstream Proteins. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23081967. [PMID: 30082668 PMCID: PMC6222556 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23081967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
As one of the post-translational modifications, O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification (O-GlcNAcylation) often occurs on serine (Ser) and threonine (Thr) residues of specific substrate cellular proteins via the addition of O-GlcNAc group by O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT). Maintenance of normal intracellular levels of O-GlcNAcylation is controlled by OGT and glycoside hydrolase O-GlcNAcase (OGA). Unbalanced O-GlcNAcylation levels have been involved in many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease. Recent research data reveal that O-GlcNAcylation at histones or non-histone proteins may provide recognition platforms for subsequent protein recruitment and further initiate intracellular biological processes. Here, we review the current understanding of the 'O-GlcNAc code' mediated intracellular biological functions of downstream proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linhong Zhao
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
| | - Junaid Ali Shah
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
| | - Yong Cai
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
- Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
| | - Jingji Jin
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
- Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
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Machon O, Baldini SF, Ribeiro JP, Steenackers A, Varrot A, Lefebvre T, Imberty A. Recombinant fungal lectin as a new tool to investigateO-GlcNAcylation processes. Glycobiology 2016; 27:123-128. [DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cww105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Revised: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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Functional analysis of recombinant human and Yarrowia lipolytica O-GlcNAc transferases expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Microbiol 2016; 54:667-74. [PMID: 27687229 DOI: 10.1007/s12275-016-6401-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Revised: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) glycosylation is an important post-translational modification in many cellular processes. It is mediated by O-GlcNAc transferases (OGTs), which catalyze the addition of O-GlcNAc to serine or threonine residues of the target proteins. In this study, we expressed a putative Yarrowia lipolytica OGT (YlOGT), the only homolog identified in the subphylum Saccharomycotina through bioinformatics analysis, and the human OGT (hOGT) as recombinant proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and performed their functional characterization. Immunoblotting assays using antibody against O-GlcNAc revealed that recombinant hOGT (rhOGT), but not the recombinant YlOGT (rYlOGT), undergoes auto-O-GlcNAcylation in the heterologous host S. cerevisiae. Moreover, the rhOGT expressed in S. cerevisiae showed a catalytic activity during in vitro assays using casein kinase II substrates, whereas no such activity was obtained in rYlOGT. However, the chimeric human-Y. lipolytica OGT, carrying the human tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain along with the Y. lipolytica catalytic domain (CTD), mediated the transfer of O-GlcNAc moiety during the in vitro assays. Although the overexpression of full-length OGTs inhibited the growth of S. cerevisiae, no such inhibition was obtained upon overexpression of only the CTD fragment, indicating the role of TPR domain in growth inhibition. This is the first report on the functional analysis of the fungal OGT, indicating that the Y. lipolytica OGT retains its catalytic activity, although the physiological role and substrates of YlOGT remain to be elucidated.
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