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Kwan JMC, Qiao Y. Mechanistic Insights into the Activities of Major Families of Enzymes in Bacterial Peptidoglycan Assembly and Breakdown. Chembiochem 2023; 24:e202200693. [PMID: 36715567 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Serving as an exoskeletal scaffold, peptidoglycan is a polymeric macromolecule that is essential and conserved across all bacteria, yet is absent in mammalian cells; this has made bacterial peptidoglycan a well-established excellent antibiotic target. In addition, soluble peptidoglycan fragments derived from bacteria are increasingly recognised as key signalling molecules in mediating diverse intra- and inter-species communication in nature, including in gut microbiota-host crosstalk. Each bacterial species encodes multiple redundant enzymes for key enzymatic activities involved in peptidoglycan assembly and breakdown. In this review, we discuss recent findings on the biochemical activities of major peptidoglycan enzymes, including peptidoglycan glycosyltransferases (PGT) and transpeptidases (TPs) in the final stage of peptidoglycan assembly, as well as peptidoglycan glycosidases, lytic transglycosylase (LTs), amidases, endopeptidases (EPs) and carboxypeptidases (CPs) in peptidoglycan turnover and metabolism. Biochemical characterisation of these enzymes provides valuable insights into their substrate specificity, regulation mechanisms and potential modes of inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeric Mun Chung Kwan
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB), 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore, 637371, Singapore.,LKC School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, Singapore, 208232, Singapore
| | - Yuan Qiao
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore, 637371, Singapore
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Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen and a major cause of severe nosocomial infections. Treatment options against enterococcal infections are declining due to the resistance of enterococci to numerous antibiotics. A key risk factor for developing enterococcal infections is treatment with cephalosporin antibiotics, to which enterococci are intrinsically resistant. For susceptible organisms, cephalosporins inhibit bacterial growth by acylating the active site of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), key enzymes that catalyze peptidoglycan cross-linking. Two specific PBPs of enterococci, Pbp4(5) and PbpA(2b), exhibit low reactivity toward cephalosporins, allowing these PBPs to cross-link peptidoglycan in the presence of cephalosporins to drive resistance in enterococci, but the mechanisms by which these PBPs are regulated are poorly understood. The CroS/R two-component signal transduction system (TCS) is also required for cephalosporin resistance. Activation of CroS/R by cephalosporins leads to CroR-dependent changes in gene expression. However, the specific genes regulated by CroS/R that are responsible for cephalosporin resistance remain largely unknown. In this study, we characterized CroR-dependent transcriptome remodeling by RNA-seq, identifying pbp4(5) as a CroR regulon member in multiple, diverse lineages of E. faecalis. Through genetic analysis of the pbp4(5) and croR promoters, we uncovered a CroR-dependent regulatory motif. Mutations in this motif to disrupt CroR-dependent upregulation of pbp4(5) in the presence of cell wall stress resulted in a reduction of resistance to cephalosporins in E. faecalis, demonstrating that enhanced production of Pbp4(5) and likely other proteins involved in peptidoglycan biogenesis by the CroS/R system drives enterococcal cephalosporin resistance.
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Maitra A, Nukala S, Dickman R, Martin LT, Munshi T, Gupta A, Shepherd AJ, Arnvig KB, Tabor AB, Keep NH, Bhakta S. Characterization of the MurT/GatD complex in Mycobacterium tuberculosis towards validating a novel anti-tubercular drug target. JAC Antimicrob Resist 2021; 3:dlab028. [PMID: 34223102 PMCID: PMC8210147 DOI: 10.1093/jacamr/dlab028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets is imperative to tackle the rise of drug resistance in tuberculosis. An essential Mur ligase-like gene (Rv3712), expected to be involved in cell-wall peptidoglycan (PG) biogenesis and conserved across mycobacteria, including the genetically depleted Mycobacterium leprae, was the primary focus of this study. METHODS Biochemical analysis of Rv3712 was performed using inorganic phosphate release assays. The operon structure was identified using reverse-transcriptase PCR and a transcription/translation fusion vector. In vivo mycobacterial protein fragment complementation assays helped generate the interactome. RESULTS Rv3712 was found to be an ATPase. Characterization of its operon revealed a mycobacteria-specific promoter driving the co-transcription of Rv3712 and Rv3713. The two gene products were found to interact with each other in vivo. Sequence-based functional assignments reveal that Rv3712 and Rv3713 are likely to be the mycobacterial PG precursor-modifying enzymes MurT and GatD, respectively. An in vivo network involving Mtb-MurT, regulatory proteins and cell division proteins was also identified. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the role of the enzyme complex in the context of PG metabolism and cell division, and the implications for antimicrobial resistance and host immune responses will facilitate the design of therapeutics that are targeted specifically to M. tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arundhati Maitra
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Syamasundari Nukala
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Rachael Dickman
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
| | - Liam T Martin
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Tulika Munshi
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Antima Gupta
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Adrian J Shepherd
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Kristine B Arnvig
- Research Department of Structural Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, Gower Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Alethea B Tabor
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
| | - Nicholas H Keep
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Sanjib Bhakta
- Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
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Stegmann E, Wagner S, Schwarz S. SFB 766: 12 years of research on the bacterial cell envelope. Int J Med Microbiol 2019; 309:151360. [PMID: 31575475 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2019.151360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Evi Stegmann
- Biotechnology/Microbiology, Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Samuel Wagner
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sandra Schwarz
- Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Germany.
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