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Hu C, Garey KW. Microscopy methods for Clostridioides difficile. Anaerobe 2024; 86:102822. [PMID: 38341023 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2024.102822] [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: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Microscopic technologies including light and fluorescent, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cryo-electron microscopy have been widely utilized to visualize Clostridioides difficile at the molecular, cellular, community, and structural biology level. This comprehensive review summarizes the microscopy tools (fluorescent and reporter system) in their use to study different aspects of C. difficile life cycle and virulence (sporulation, germination) or applications (detection of C. difficile or use of antimicrobials). With these developing techniques, microscopy tools will be able to find broader applications and address more challenging questions to study C. difficile and C. difficile infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenlin Hu
- University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kevin W Garey
- University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, TX, USA.
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2
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Griffin ME, Klupt S, Espinosa J, Hang HC. Peptidoglycan NlpC/P60 peptidases in bacterial physiology and host interactions. Cell Chem Biol 2023; 30:436-456. [PMID: 36417916 PMCID: PMC10192474 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2022.11.001] [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: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The bacterial cell wall is composed of a highly crosslinked matrix of glycopeptide polymers known as peptidoglycan that dictates bacterial cell morphology and protects against environmental stresses. Regulation of peptidoglycan turnover is therefore crucial for bacterial survival and growth and is mediated by key protein complexes and enzyme families. Here, we review the prevalence, structure, and activity of NlpC/P60 peptidases, a family of peptidoglycan hydrolases that are crucial for cell wall turnover and division as well as interactions with antibiotics and different hosts. Understanding the molecular functions of NlpC/P60 peptidases should provide important insight into bacterial physiology, their interactions with different kingdoms of life, and the development of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Griffin
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Steven Klupt
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Juliel Espinosa
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Microbial Pathogenesis, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Howard C Hang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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3
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Identification of serine/threonine kinases that regulate metabolism and sporulation in Clostridium beijerinckii. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 106:7563-7575. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12234-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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4
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Garcia-Garcia T, Douché T, Giai Gianetto Q, Poncet S, El Omrani N, Smits WK, Cuenot E, Matondo M, Martin-Verstraete I. In-Depth Characterization of the Clostridioides difficile Phosphoproteome to Identify Ser/Thr Kinase Substrates. Mol Cell Proteomics 2022; 21:100428. [PMID: 36252736 PMCID: PMC9674922 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2022.100428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of postantibiotic diarrhea in adults. During infection, the bacterium must rapidly adapt to the host environment by using survival strategies. Protein phosphorylation is a reversible post-translational modification employed ubiquitously for signal transduction and cellular regulation. Hanks-type serine/threonine kinases (STKs) and serine/threonine phosphatases have emerged as important players in bacterial cell signaling and pathogenicity. C. difficile encodes two STKs (PrkC and CD2148) and one phosphatase. We optimized a titanium dioxide phosphopeptide enrichment approach to determine the phosphoproteome of C. difficile. We identified and quantified 2500 proteins representing 63% of the theoretical proteome. To identify STK and serine/threonine phosphatase targets, we then performed comparative large-scale phosphoproteomics of the WT strain and isogenic ΔprkC, CD2148, Δstp, and prkC CD2148 mutants. We detected 635 proteins containing phosphorylated peptides. We showed that PrkC is phosphorylated on multiple sites in vivo and autophosphorylates in vitro. We were unable to detect a phosphorylation for CD2148 in vivo, whereas this kinase was phosphorylated in vitro only in the presence of PrkC. Forty-one phosphoproteins were identified as phosphorylated under the control of CD2148, whereas 114 proteins were phosphorylated under the control of PrkC including 27 phosphoproteins more phosphorylated in the ∆stp mutant. We also observed enrichment for phosphothreonine among the phosphopeptides more phosphorylated in the Δstp mutant. Both kinases targeted pathways required for metabolism, translation, and stress response, whereas cell division and peptidoglycan metabolism were more specifically controlled by PrkC-dependent phosphorylation in agreement with the phenotypes of the ΔprkC mutant. Using a combination of approaches, we confirmed that FtsK was phosphorylated in vivo under the control of PrkC and that Spo0A was a substrate of PrkC in vitro. This study provides a detailed mapping of kinase-substrate relationships in C. difficile, paving the way for the identification of new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Transito Garcia-Garcia
- Laboratoire Pathogénese des Bactéries Anaérobies, UMR CNRS 6047, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Thibaut Douché
- Plateforme Protéomique, Unité de Technologie et Service Spectrométrie de Masse pour la biologie, CNRS USR 2000, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Quentin Giai Gianetto
- Plateforme Protéomique, Unité de Technologie et Service Spectrométrie de Masse pour la biologie, CNRS USR 2000, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France,Hub de bioinformatique et biostatistiques, Departement de Biologie computationelle, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Poncet
- INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Nesrine El Omrani
- Plateforme Protéomique, Unité de Technologie et Service Spectrométrie de Masse pour la biologie, CNRS USR 2000, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Wiep Klaas Smits
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Elodie Cuenot
- Laboratoire Pathogénese des Bactéries Anaérobies, UMR CNRS 6047, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Mariette Matondo
- Plateforme Protéomique, Unité de Technologie et Service Spectrométrie de Masse pour la biologie, CNRS USR 2000, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France,For correspondence: Isabelle Martin-Verstraete; Mariette Matondo
| | - Isabelle Martin-Verstraete
- Laboratoire Pathogénese des Bactéries Anaérobies, UMR CNRS 6047, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France,For correspondence: Isabelle Martin-Verstraete; Mariette Matondo
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Wang M, Deng Z, Li Y, Ma Y, Wang J. Design and characterization of a novel lytic protein against Clostridium difficile. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 106:4511-4521. [PMID: 35699735 PMCID: PMC9194777 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12010-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, toxin-producing anaerobe that can cause nosocomial antibiotic-associated intestinal disease. Autolysin is a lytic enzyme that hydrolyzes peptidoglycans of the bacterial cell wall, with a catalytic domain and cell wall–binding domains, proven to be involved in bacterial cell wall remodeling and cell division. Although autolysins in C. difficile have been reported, the autolysins have failed to yield impressive results when used as exogenous lytic agents. In this study, we expressed and characterized the binding domains (Cwp19-BD and Acd-BD) and catalytic domains (Cwp19-CD, Acd-CD, and Cwl-CD) of C. difficile autolysins, and the domains with the best binding specificity and lytic activity were selected towards C. difficile to design a novel lytic protein Cwl-CWB2. Cwl-CWB2 showed good biosafety with significantly low hemolysis and without cytotoxicity. The results of fluorescence analysis and lytic assay demonstrated that Cwl-CWB2 has higher binding specificity and stronger lytic activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration at 13.39 ± 5.80 μg/mL against living C. difficile cells, which is significantly stronger than commercial lysozyme (3333.33 ± 1443.37 μg/mL) and other reported C. difficile autolysins. Besides, Cwl-CWB2 exhibited good stability as about 75% of the lytic activity was still retained when incubated at 37 °C for 96 h, which is considered to be a potential antimicrobial agent to combat C. difficile. Key points • Several binding domains and catalytic domains, deriving from several Clostridium difficile autolysins, were expressed, purified, and functionally characterized. • A novel C. difficile lytic protein Cwl-CWB2 was designed from C. difficile autolysins. • The binding specificity and lytic activity of Cwl-CWB2 against C. difficile showed advantages compared with other reported C. difficile autolysins. • Cwl-CWB2 exhibited significantly low hemolysis and cytotoxicity against normal-derived colon mucosa 460 cell. Graphical abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00253-022-12010-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Zifeng Deng
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yanmei Li
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yi Ma
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jufang Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
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Clostridioides difficile Phosphoproteomics Shows an Expansion of Phosphorylated Proteins in Stationary Growth Phase. mSphere 2022; 7:e0091121. [PMID: 34986318 PMCID: PMC8730811 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00911-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Phosphorylation is a posttranslational modification that can affect both housekeeping functions and virulence characteristics in bacterial pathogens. In the Gram-positive enteropathogen Clostridioides difficile, the extent and nature of phosphorylation events are poorly characterized, though a protein kinase mutant strain demonstrates pleiotropic phenotypes. Here, we used an immobilized metal affinity chromatography strategy to characterize serine, threonine, and tyrosine phosphorylation in C. difficile. We find limited protein phosphorylation in the exponential growth phase but a sharp increase in the number of phosphopeptides after the onset of the stationary growth phase. Our approach identifies expected targets and phosphorylation sites among the more than 1,500 phosphosites, including the protein kinase PrkC, the anti-sigma-F factor antagonist (SpoIIAA), the anti-sigma-B factor antagonist (RsbV), and HPr kinase/phosphorylase (HprK). Analysis of high-confidence phosphosites shows that phosphorylation on serine residues is most common, followed by threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation. This work forms the basis for a further investigation into the contributions of individual kinases to the overall phosphoproteome of C. difficile and the role of phosphorylation in C. difficile physiology and pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of protein phosphorylation in the Gram-positive enteropathogen Clostridioides difficile. To date, only limited evidence on the role of phosphorylation in the regulation of this organism has been published; the current study is expected to form the basis for research on this posttranslational modification in C. difficile.
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Tremblay YD, Dupuy B. The blueprint for building a biofilm the Clostridioides difficile way. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 66:39-45. [PMID: 34933207 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is an opportunistic pathogen that causes by a high rate of recurrent infections. Persistence in the gastrointestinal tract is thought to be mediated by sporulation and/or biofilm formation. There is an increase interest in C. difficile biofilm formation and recent findings have provided a framework to model surface-attached biofilm formation. For in vitro biofilm formation, C. difficile must undergo a metabolic reprogramming as it enters stationary phase. This helps maintain long-term viability and increases responsiveness to signals leading to biofilm formation. Metabolic reprogramming and biofilm formation requires several regulatory factors and these overlap with the sporulation cascade. Despite recent advances, further research is needed to answer outstanding questions in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Dn Tremblay
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, UMR-CNRS 2001, Laboratoire Pathogenèse des Bactéries Anaérobies, F-75015 Paris, France; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
| | - Bruno Dupuy
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, UMR-CNRS 2001, Laboratoire Pathogenèse des Bactéries Anaérobies, F-75015 Paris, France.
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Coullon H, Candela T. Clostridioides difficile peptidoglycan modifications. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 65:156-161. [PMID: 34883390 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The cortex and peptidoglycan of Clostridioides difficile have been poorly investigated. This last decade, the interest increased because these two structures are highly modified and these modifications may be involved in antimicrobial resistance. For example, C. difficile peptidoglycan deacetylation was recently reported to be involved in lysozyme resistance. Modifications may also be important for spore cortex synthesis or spore germination, which is essential in C. difficile pathogenesis. As such, the enzymes responsible for modifications of the peptidoglycan and/or cortex could be new drug target candidates or used as anti-C. difficile agents, as seen for the CD11 autolysin. In this review, we focus on C. difficile peptidoglycan and cortex and compare their structures with those of other well studied bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héloise Coullon
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, Jouy-en-Josas, France; Division of Infectious Diseases, Dept. of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Thomas Candela
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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Nagarajan SN, Lenoir C, Grangeasse C. Recent advances in bacterial signaling by serine/threonine protein kinases. Trends Microbiol 2021; 30:553-566. [PMID: 34836791 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
It has been nearly three decades since the discovery of the first bacterial serine/threonine protein kinase (STPK). Since then, a blend of technological advances has led to the characterization of a multitude of STPKs and phosphorylation substrates in several bacterial species that finely regulate intricate signaling cascades. Years of intense research from several laboratories have demonstrated unexpected roles for serine/threonine phosphorylation, regulating not only bacterial growth and cell division but also antibiotic persistence, virulence and infection, metabolism, chromosomal biology, and cellular differentiation. This review aims to provide an account of the most recent and significant developments in this up and growing field in microbiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sathya Narayanan Nagarajan
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR 5086, Université de Lyon, CNRS, IBCP building, 7 passage du Vercors, 69367 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Cassandra Lenoir
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR 5086, Université de Lyon, CNRS, IBCP building, 7 passage du Vercors, 69367 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Christophe Grangeasse
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR 5086, Université de Lyon, CNRS, IBCP building, 7 passage du Vercors, 69367 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
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