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Li J, Liu S, Zhang Y, Huang Q, Zhang H, OuYang J, Mao F, Fan H, Yi W, Dong M, Xu A, Huang S. Two novel mollusk short-form ApeC-containing proteins act as pattern recognition proteins for peptidoglycan. Front Immunol 2022; 13:971883. [PMID: 36275759 PMCID: PMC9585378 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.971883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Apextrin C-terminal (ApeC) domain is a new protein domain largely specific to aquatic invertebrates. In amphioxus, a short-form ApeC-containing protein (ACP) family is capable of binding peptidoglycan (PGN) and agglutinating bacteria via its ApeC domain. However, the functions of ApeC in other phyla remain unknown. Here we examined 130 ACPs from gastropods and bivalves, the first and second biggest mollusk classes. They were classified into nine groups based on their phylogenetics and architectures, including three groups of short-form ACPs, one group of apextrins and two groups of ACPs of complex architectures. No groups have orthologs in other phyla and only four groups have members in both gastropods and bivalves, suggesting that mollusk ACPs are highly diversified. We selected one bivalve ACP (CgACP1; from the oyster Crossostrea gigas) and one gastropod ACP (BgACP1; from the snail Biomphalaria glabrata) for functional experiments. Both are highly-expressed, secreted short-form ACPs and hence comparable to the amphioxus ACPs previously reported. We found that recombinant CgACP1 and BgACP1 bound with yeasts and several bacteria with different affinities. They also agglutinated these microbes, but showed no inhibiting or killing effects. Further analyses show that both ACPs had high affinities to the Lys-type PGN from S. aureus but weak or no affinities to the DAP-type PGN from Bacillus subtilis. Both recombinant ACPs displayed weak or no affinities to other microbial cell wall components, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), zymosan A, chitin, chitosan and cellulose, as well as to several PGN moieties, including muramyl dipeptide (MDP), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc). Besides, CgACP1 had the highest expression in the gill and could be greatly up-regulated quickly after bacterial challenge. This is reminiscent of the amphioxus ACP1/2 which serve as essential mucus lectins in the gill. Taken together, the current findings from mollusk and amphioxus ACPs suggest several basic common traits for the ApeC domains, including the high affinity to Lys-type PGN, the bacterial binding and agglutinating capacity, and the role as mucus proteins to protect the mucosal surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Li
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Shumin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiuyun Huang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Jihua OuYang
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Fan Mao
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huiping Fan
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Wenjie Yi
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Meiling Dong
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Anlong Xu
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Anlong Xu, ; Shengfeng Huang,
| | - Shengfeng Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- *Correspondence: Anlong Xu, ; Shengfeng Huang,
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Fiorotti J, Urbanová V, Gôlo PS, Bittencourt VREP, Kopáček P. The role of complement in the tick cellular immune defense against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2022; 126:104234. [PMID: 34450130 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2021.104234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been widely explored for their potential in the biological control of insect pests and as an environmentally friendly alternative to acaricides for limiting tick infestation in the field. The arthropod cuticle is the main barrier against fungal infection, however, an understanding of internal defense mechanisms after EPF intrusion into the invertebrate hemocoel is still rather limited. Using an infection model of the European Lyme borreliosis vector Ixodes ricinus with the EPF Metarhizium robertsii, we demonstrated that ticks are capable of protecting themselves to a certain extent against mild fungal infections. However, tick mortality dramatically increases when the capability of tick hemocytes to phagocytose fungal conidia is impaired. Using RNAi-mediated silencing of tick thioester-containing proteins (TEPs), followed by in vitro and/or in vivo phagocytic assays, we found that C3-like complement components and α2-macroglobulin pan-protease inhibitors secreted to the hemolymph play pivotal roles in M. robertsii phagocytosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jéssica Fiorotti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Veterinárias, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Brazil
| | - Veronika Urbanová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Patrícia Silva Gôlo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Veterinárias, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Brazil
| | | | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, Czech Republic.
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