Protein-lipid interaction at low pH induces oligomerization of the MakA cytotoxin from Vibrio cholerae

Bacterial protein MakA causes suppression of tumour cell proliferation via inhibition of PIP5K1α/Akt signalling

Recently, we demonstrated that a novel bacterial cytotoxin, the protein MakA which is released by Vibrio cholerae, is a virulence factor, causing killing of Caenorhabditis elegans when the worms are grazing on the bacteria. Studies with mammalian cell cultures in vitro indicated that MakA could affect eukaryotic cell signalling pathways involved in lipid biosynthesis. MakA treatment of colon cancer cells in vitro caused inhibition of growth and loss of cell viability. These findings prompted us to investigate possible signalling pathways that could be targets of the MakA-mediated inhibition of tumour cell proliferation. Initial in vivo studies with MakA producing V. cholerae and C. elegans suggested that the MakA protein might target the PIP5K1α phospholipid-signalling pathway in the worms. Intriguingly, MakA was then found to inhibit the PIP5K1α lipid-signalling pathway in cancer cells, resulting in a decrease in PIP5K1α and pAkt expression. Further analyses revealed that MakA inhibited cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and induced p27 expression, resulting in G2/M cell cycle arrest. Moreover, MakA induced downregulation of Ki67 and cyclin D1, which led to inhibition of cell proliferation. This is the first report about a bacterial protein that may target signalling involving the cancer cell lipid modulator PIP5K1α in colon cancer cells, implying an anti-cancer effect.

Cryo-EM elucidates mechanism of action of bacterial pore-forming toxins

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) rupture plasma membranes and kill target cells. PFTs are secreted as soluble monomers that undergo drastic structural rearrangements upon interacting with the target membrane and generate transmembrane oligomeric pores. A detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the pore-formation process remains unclear due to limited structural insights regarding the transmembrane oligomeric pore states of the PFTs. However, recent advances in the field of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have led to the high-resolution structure determination of the oligomeric pore forms of diverse PFTs. Here, we discuss the pore-forming mechanisms of various PFTs, specifically the mechanistic details contributed by the cryo-EM-based structural studies.

V. cholerae MakA is a cholesterol-binding pore-forming toxin that induces non-canonical autophagy

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are important virulence factors produced by many pathogenic bacteria. Here, we show that the Vibrio cholerae toxin MakA is a novel cholesterol-binding PFT that induces non-canonical autophagy in a pH-dependent manner. MakA specifically binds to cholesterol on the membrane at pH < 7. Cholesterol-binding leads to oligomerization of MakA on the membrane and pore formation at pH 5.5. Unlike other cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) which bind cholesterol through a conserved cholesterol-binding motif (Thr-Leu pair), MakA contains an Ile-Ile pair that is essential for MakA-cholesterol interaction. Following internalization, endosomal acidification triggers MakA pore-assembly followed by ESCRT-mediated membrane repair and V-ATPase-dependent unconventional LC3 lipidation on the damaged endolysosomal membranes. These findings characterize a new cholesterol-binding toxin that forms pores in a pH-dependent manner and reveals the molecular mechanism of host autophagy manipulation.

A Genomic Island of Vibrio cholerae Encodes a Three-Component Cytotoxin with Monomer and Protomer Forms Structurally Similar to Alpha-Pore-Forming Toxins

Alpha-pore-forming toxins (α-PFTs) are secreted by many species of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Bacillus thuringiensis, as part of their arsenal of virulence factors, and are often cytotoxic. In particular, for α-PFTs, the membrane-spanning channel they form is composed of hydrophobic α-helices. These toxins oligomerize at the surface of target cells and transition from a soluble to a protomer state in which they expose their hydrophobic regions and insert into the membrane to form a pore. The pores may be composed of homooligomers of one component or heterooligomers with two or three components, resulting in bi- or tripartite toxins. The multicomponent α-PFTs are often expressed from a single operon. Recently, motility-associated killing factor A (MakA), an α-PFT, was discovered in Vibrio cholerae. We report that makA is found on the V. cholerae GI-10 genomic island within an operon containing genes for two other potential α-PFTs, MakB and MakE. We determined the X-ray crystal structures for MakA, MakB, and MakE and demonstrated that all three are structurally related to the α-PFT family in the soluble state, and we modeled their protomer state based on the α-PFT AhlB from A. hydrophila. We found that MakA alone is cytotoxic at micromolar concentrations. However, combining MakA with MakB and MakE is cytotoxic at nanomolar concentrations, with specificity for J774 macrophage cells. Our data suggest that MakA, -B, and -E are α-PFTs that potentially act as a tripartite pore-forming toxin with specificity for phagocytic cells. IMPORTANCE The bacterium Vibrio cholerae causes gastrointestinal, wound, and skin infections. The motility-associated killing factor A (MakA) was recently shown to be cytotoxic against colon, prostate, and other cancer cells. However, at the outset of this study, the capacity of MakA to damage cells in combination with other Mak proteins encoded in the same operon had not been elucidated. We determined the structures of three Mak proteins and established that they are structurally related to the α-PFTs. Compared to MakA alone, the combination of all three toxins was more potent specifically in mouse macrophages. This study highlights the idea that the Mak toxins are selectively cytotoxic and thus may function as a tripartite toxin with cell type specificity.