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Knejski PP, Erramilli SK, Kossiakoff AA. Chaperone-assisted cryo-EM structure of P. aeruginosa PhuR reveals molecular basis for heme binding. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.01.551527. [PMID: 37577460 PMCID: PMC10418163 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.01.551527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, depend on scavenging heme for the acquisition of iron, an essential nutrient. The TonB-dependent transporter (TBDT) PhuR is the major heme uptake protein in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. However, a comprehensive understanding of heme recognition and TBDT transport mechanisms, especially PhuR, remains limited. In this study, we employed single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and a phage display-generated synthetic antibody (sAB) as a fiducial marker to enable the determination of a high-resolution (2.5 Å) structure of PhuR with a bound heme. Notably, the structure reveals iron coordination by Y529 on a conserved extracellular loop, shedding light on the role of tyrosine in heme binding. Biochemical assays and negative-stain EM demonstrated that the sAB specifically targets the heme-bound state of PhuR. These findings provide insights into PhuR's heme binding and offer a template for developing conformation-specific sABs against outer membrane proteins (OMPs) for structure-function investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł P. Knejski
- Deparment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Laboratory of Medical Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław 50-383, Poland
- Present address: Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Satchal K. Erramilli
- Deparment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Present address: Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Anthony A. Kossiakoff
- Deparment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Knejski PP, Erramilli SK, Kossiakoff AA. Chaperone-assisted cryo-EM structure of P. aeruginosa PhuR reveals molecular basis for heme binding. Structure 2024; 32:411-423.e6. [PMID: 38325368 PMCID: PMC10997469 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2024.01.007] [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: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, depend on scavenging heme for the acquisition of iron, an essential nutrient. The TonB-dependent transporter (TBDT) PhuR is the major heme uptake protein in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. However, a comprehensive understanding of heme recognition and TBDT transport mechanisms, especially PhuR, remains limited. In this study, we employed single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and a phage display-generated synthetic antibody (sAB) as a fiducial marker to enable the determination of a high-resolution (2.5 Å) structure of PhuR with a bound heme. Notably, the structure reveals iron coordination by Y529 on a conserved extracellular loop, shedding light on the role of tyrosine in heme binding. Biochemical assays and negative-stain EM demonstrated that the sAB specifically targets the heme-bound state of PhuR. These findings provide insights into PhuR's heme binding and offer a template for developing conformation-specific sABs against outer membrane proteins (OMPs) for structure-function investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł P Knejski
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Laboratory of Medical Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Satchal K Erramilli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - Anthony A Kossiakoff
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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Sharifian Gh. M, Norouzi F, Sorci M, Zaid TS, Pier GB, Achimovich A, Ongwae GM, Liang B, Ryan M, Lemke M, Belfort G, Gadjeva M, Gahlmann A, Pires MM, Venter H, Harris TE, Laurie GW. Targeting Iron - Respiratory Reciprocity Promotes Bacterial Death. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.01.582947. [PMID: 38464199 PMCID: PMC10925246 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.582947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Discovering new bacterial signaling pathways offers unique antibiotic strategies. Here, through an unbiased resistance screen of 3,884 gene knockout strains, we uncovered a previously unknown non-lytic bactericidal mechanism that sequentially couples three transporters and downstream transcription to lethally suppress respiration of the highly virulent P. aeruginosa strain PA14 - one of three species on the WHO's 'Priority 1: Critical' list. By targeting outer membrane YaiW, cationic lacritin peptide 'N-104' translocates into the periplasm where it ligates outer loops 4 and 2 of the inner membrane transporters FeoB and PotH, respectively, to suppress both ferrous iron and polyamine uptake. This broadly shuts down transcription of many biofilm-associated genes, including ferrous iron-dependent TauD and ExbB1. The mechanism is innate to the surface of the eye and is enhanced by synergistic coupling with thrombin peptide GKY20. This is the first example of an inhibitor of multiple bacterial transporters.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fatemeh Norouzi
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Mirco Sorci
- Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, USA
| | - Tanweer S Zaid
- Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA
| | - Gerald B. Pier
- Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA
| | - Alecia Achimovich
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - George M. Ongwae
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Binyong Liang
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Margaret Ryan
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Michael Lemke
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Georges Belfort
- Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, USA
| | - Mihaela Gadjeva
- Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA
| | - Andreas Gahlmann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Marcos M. Pires
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Henrietta Venter
- Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Thurl E. Harris
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
| | - Gordon W. Laurie
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, USA
- Contact author: Gordon Laurie
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Loll PJ, Grasty KC, Shultis DD, Guzman NJ, Wiener MC. Discovery and structural characterization of the D-box, a conserved TonB motif that couples an inner-membrane motor to outer-membrane transport. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105723. [PMID: 38311172 PMCID: PMC10907165 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105723] [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: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Gram-negative bacteria use TonB-dependent transport to take up nutrients from the external environment, employing the Ton complex to import a variety of nutrients that are either scarce or too large to cross the outer membrane unaided. The Ton complex contains an inner-membrane motor (ExbBD) that generates force, as well as nutrient-specific transport proteins on the outer membrane. These two components are coupled by TonB, which transmits the force from the inner to the outer membrane. TonB contains an N-terminus anchored in the inner membrane, a C-terminal domain that binds the outer-membrane transporter, and a proline-rich linker connecting the two. While much is known about the interaction between TonB and outer-membrane transporters, the critical interface between TonB and ExbBD is less well understood. Here, we identify a conserved motif within TonB that we term the D-box, which serves as an attachment point for ExbD. We characterize the interaction between ExbD and the D-box both functionally and structurally, showing that a homodimer of ExbD captures one copy of the D-box peptide via beta-strand recruitment. We additionally show that both the D-box motif and ExbD are conserved in a range of Gram-negative bacteria, including members of the ESKAPE group of pathogens. The ExbD:D-box interaction is likely to represent an important aspect of force transduction between the inner and outer membranes. Given that TonB-dependent transport is an important contributor to virulence, this interaction is an intriguing potential target for novel antibacterial therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Loll
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
| | - Kimberly C Grasty
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David D Shultis
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Nicholas J Guzman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael C Wiener
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
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Nandel V, Scadden J, Baker MAB. Ion-Powered Rotary Motors: Where Did They Come from and Where They Are Going? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10601. [PMID: 37445779 PMCID: PMC10341847 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310601] [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: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular motors are found in many living organisms. One such molecular machine, the ion-powered rotary motor (IRM), requires the movement of ions across a membrane against a concentration gradient to drive rotational movement. The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is an example of an IRM which relies on ion movement through the stator proteins to generate the rotation of the flagella. There are many ions which can be used by the BFM stators to power motility and different ions can be used by a single bacterium expressing multiple stator variants. The use of ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) and functional analysis of reconstructed stators shows promise for understanding how these proteins evolved and when the divergence in ion use may have occurred. In this review, we discuss extant BFM stators and the ions that power them as well as recent examples of the use of ASR to study ion-channel selectivity and how this might be applied to further study of the BFM stator complex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Matthew A. B. Baker
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS), University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia; (V.N.); (J.S.)
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