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Costa TFR, Catta-Preta CMC, Goundry A, Carvalho DB, Rodrigues NS, Vivarini AC, de Abreu MF, Reis FCG, Lima APCA. The ecotin-like peptidase inhibitor of Trypanosoma cruzi prevents TMPRSS2-PAR2-TLR4 crosstalk downmodulating infection and inflammation. FASEB J 2024; 38:e23566. [PMID: 38526868 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202302091rr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a chronic pathology that affects the heart and/or digestive system. This parasite invades and multiplies in virtually all nucleated cells, using a variety of host cell receptors for infection. T. cruzi has a gene that encodes an ecotin-like inhibitor of serine peptidases, ISP2. We generated ISP2-null mutants (Δisp2) in T. cruzi Dm28c using CRISPR/Cas9. Epimastigotes of Δisp2 grew normally in vitro but were more susceptible to lysis by human serum compared to parental and ISP2 add-back lines. Tissue culture trypomastigotes of Δisp2 were more infective to human muscle cells in vitro, which was reverted by the serine peptidase inhibitors aprotinin and camostat, suggesting that host cell epitheliasin/TMPRSS2 is the target of ISP2. Pretreatment of host cells with an antagonist to the protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) or an inhibitor of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) selectively counteracted the increased cell invasion by Δisp2, but did not affect invasion by parental and add-back lines. The same was observed following targeted gene silencing of PAR2, TLR4 or TMPRSS2 in host cells by siRNA. Furthermore, Δisp2 caused increased tissue edema in a BALB/c mouse footpad infection model after 3 h differently to that observed following infection with parental and add-back lines. We propose that ISP2 contributes to protect T. cruzi from the anti-microbial effects of human serum and to prevent triggering of PAR2 and TLR4 in host cells, resulting in the modulation of host cell invasion and contributing to decrease inflammation during acute infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana F R Costa
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carolina M C Catta-Preta
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Amy Goundry
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Danielle B Carvalho
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Nathalia S Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Aislan C Vivarini
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular, Insituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, Brazil
| | - Mayra Fonseca de Abreu
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Flavia C G Reis
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula C A Lima
- Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular de Proteases, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Li Y, Wang Y, Zhu R, Yang X, Wei M, Zhang Z, Chen C, Zhao P. Tandem Multimerization Can Enhance the Structural Homogeneity and Antifungal Activity of the Silkworm Protease Inhibitor BmSPI39. Cells 2023; 12:cells12050693. [PMID: 36899829 PMCID: PMC10000547 DOI: 10.3390/cells12050693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that BmSPI39, a serine protease inhibitor of silkworm, can inhibit virulence-related proteases and the conidial germination of insect pathogenic fungi, thereby enhancing the antifungal capacity of Bombyx mori. The recombinant BmSPI39 expressed in Escherichia coli has poor structural homogeneity and is prone to spontaneous multimerization, which greatly limits its development and application. To date, the effect of multimerization on the inhibitory activity and antifungal ability of BmSPI39 remains unknown. It is urgent to explore whether a BmSPI39 tandem multimer with better structural homogeneity, higher activity and a stronger antifungal ability can be obtained by protein engineering. In this study, the expression vectors of BmSPI39 homotype tandem multimers were constructed using the isocaudomer method, and the recombinant proteins of tandem multimers were obtained by prokaryotic expression. The effects of BmSPI39 multimerization on its inhibitory activity and antifungal ability were investigated by protease inhibition and fungal growth inhibition experiments. In-gel activity staining and protease inhibition assays showed that tandem multimerization could not only greatly improve the structural homogeneity of the BmSPI39 protein, but also significantly increase its inhibitory activity against subtilisin and proteinase K. The results of conidial germination assays showed that tandem multimerization could effectively enhance the inhibitory ability of BmSPI39 on the conidial germination of Beauveria bassiana. A fungal growth inhibition assay showed that BmSPI39 tandem multimers had certain inhibitory effects on both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans. The inhibitory ability of BmSPI39 against these the above two fungi could be enhanced by tandem multimerization. In conclusion, this study successfully achieved the soluble expression of tandem multimers of the silkworm protease inhibitor BmSPI39 in E. coli and confirmed that tandem multimerization can improve the structural homogeneity and antifungal ability of BmSPI39. This study will not only help to deepen our understanding of the action mechanism of BmSPI39, but also provide an important theoretical basis and new strategy for cultivating antifungal transgenic silkworms. It will also promote its exogenous production and development and application in the medical field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youshan Li
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
- Qinba Mountain Area Collaborative Innovation Center of Bioresources Comprehensive Development, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Yuan Wang
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Rui Zhu
- Qinba Mountain Area Collaborative Innovation Center of Bioresources Comprehensive Development, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Xi Yang
- Qinba State Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment (Incubation), Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Meng Wei
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Zhaofeng Zhang
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Changqing Chen
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Ping Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
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De Meyer F, Carlier A. Ecotin: A versatile protease inhibitor of bacteria and eukaryotes. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1114690. [PMID: 36760512 PMCID: PMC9904509 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1114690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Serine protease inhibitors are a large family of proteins involved in important pathways and processes, such as inflammatory responses and blood clotting. Most are characterized by a precise mode of action, thereby targeting a narrow range of protease substrates. However, the serine-protease inhibitor ecotin is able to inhibit a broad range of serine proteases that display a wide range of specificities. This specificity is driven by special structural features which allow unique flexibility upon binding to targets. Although frequently observed in many human/animal-associated bacteria, ecotin homologs may also be found in plant-associated taxa and environmental species. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the biological importance, role in host-microbe interactions, and evolutionary relationship between ecotin orthologs isolated from Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic species across the Tree of Life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric De Meyer
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Aurélien Carlier
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium,LIPME, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CNRS, Castanet-Tolosan, France,*Correspondence: Aurélien Carlier, ✉
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Thomas C, Nothaft H, Yadav R, Fodor C, Alemka A, Oni O, Bell M, Rada B, Szymanski CM. Characterization of ecotin homologs from Campylobacter rectus and Campylobacter showae. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0244031. [PMID: 33378351 PMCID: PMC7773321 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecotin, first described in Escherichia coli, is a potent
inhibitor of a broad range of serine proteases including those typically
released by the innate immune system such as neutrophil elastase (NE). Here we
describe the identification of ecotin orthologs in various
Campylobacter species, including Campylobacter
rectus and Campylobacter showae residing in the
oral cavity and implicated in the development and progression of periodontal
disease in humans. To investigate the function of these ecotins in
vitro, the orthologs from C.
rectus and C. showae were
recombinantly expressed and purified from E.
coli. Using CmeA degradation/protection assays,
fluorescence resonance energy transfer and NE activity assays, we found that
ecotins from C. rectus and C.
showae inhibit NE, factor Xa and trypsin, but not the
Campylobacter jejuni serine protease HtrA or its ortholog
in E. coli, DegP. To further evaluate ecotin
function in vivo, an E. coli
ecotin-deficient mutant was complemented with the C.
rectus and C. showae
homologs. Using a neutrophil killing assay, we demonstrate that the low survival
rate of the E. coli ecotin-deficient mutant
can be rescued upon expression of ecotins from C.
rectus and C. showae. In
addition, the C. rectus and
C. showae ecotins partially compensate for
loss of N-glycosylation and increased protease susceptibility in the related
pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, thus implicating a similar role
for these proteins in the native host to cope with the protease-rich environment
of the oral cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody Thomas
- Department of Microbiology and Complex Carbohydrate Research Center,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of
America
| | - Harald Nothaft
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
| | - Ruchi Yadav
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia, United States of America
| | - Christopher Fodor
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
| | - Abofu Alemka
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
| | - Oluwadamilola Oni
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia, United States of America
| | - Michael Bell
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia, United States of America
| | - Balázs Rada
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia, United States of America
| | - Christine M. Szymanski
- Department of Microbiology and Complex Carbohydrate Research Center,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of
America
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
- * E-mail:
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