Helicobacter pylori HP0377, a member of the Dsb family, is an untypical multifunctional CcmG that cooperates with dimeric thioldisulfide oxidase HP0231

BACKGROUND

In the genome of H. pylori 26695, 149 proteins containing the CXXC motif characteristic of thioldisulfide oxidoreductases have been identified to date. However, only two of these proteins have a thioredoxin-like fold (i.e., HP0377 and HP0231) and are periplasm-located. We have previously shown that HP0231 is a dimeric oxidoreductase that catalyzes disulfide bond formation in the periplasm. Although HP0377 was originally described as DsbC homologue, its resolved structure and location of the hp0377 gene in the genome indicate that it is a counterpart of CcmG/DsbE.

RESULTS

The present work shows that HP0377 is present in H. pylori cells only in a reduced form and that absence of the main periplasmic oxidase HP0231 influences its redox state. Our biochemical analysis indicates that HP0377 is a specific reductase, as it does not reduce insulin. However, it possesses disulfide isomerase activity, as it catalyzes the refolding of scrambled RNase. Additionally, although its standard redox potential is -176 mV, it is the first described CcmG protein having an acidic pKa of the N-terminal cysteine of the CXXC motif, similar to E. coli DsbA or E. coli DsbC. The CcmG proteins that play a role in a cytochrome c-maturation, both in system I and system II, are kept in the reduced form by an integral membrane protein DsbD or its analogue, CcdA. In H. pylori HP0377 is re-reduced by CcdA (HP0265); however in E. coli it remains in the oxidized state as it does not interact with E. coli DsbD. Our in vivo work also suggests that both HP0377, which plays a role in apocytochrome reduction, and HP0378, which is involved in heme transport and its ligation into apocytochrome, provide essential functions in H. pylori.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data, in combination with the resolved three-dimensional structure of the HP0377, suggest that HP0377 is an unusual, multifunctional CcmG protein.

Detecting envelope stress by monitoring β-barrel assembly

The cell envelope protects bacteria from their surroundings. Defects in its integrity or assembly are sensed by signal transduction systems, allowing cells to rapidly adjust. The Rcs phosphorelay responds to outer membrane (OM)- and peptidoglycan-related stress in enterobacteria. We elucidated how the OM lipoprotein RcsF, the upstream Rcs component, senses envelope stress and activates the signaling cascade. RcsF interacts with BamA, the major component of the β-barrel assembly machinery. In growing cells, BamA continuously funnels RcsF through the β-barrel OmpA, displaying RcsF on the cell surface. This process spatially separates RcsF from the downstream Rcs component, which we show is the inner membrane protein IgaA. The Rcs system is activated when BamA fails to bind RcsF and funnel it to OmpA. Newly synthesized RcsF then remains periplasmic, interacting with IgaA to activate the cascade. Thus RcsF senses envelope damage by monitoring the activity of the Bam machinery.

A novel insight into the oxidoreductase activity of Helicobacter pylori HP0231 protein

Background

The formation of a disulfide bond between two cysteine residues stabilizes protein structure. Although we now have a good understanding of the Escherichia coli disulfide formation system, the machineries at work in other bacteria, including pathogens, are poorly characterized. Thus, the objective of this work was to improve our understanding of the disulfide formation machinery of Helicobacter pylori, a leading cause of ulcers and a risk factor for stomach cancer worldwide.

Methods and Results

The protein HP0231 from H. pylori, a structural counterpart of E. coli DsbG, is the focus of this research. Its function was clarified by using a combination of biochemical, microbiological and genetic approaches. In particular, we determined the biochemical properties of HP0231 as well as its redox state in H. pylori cells.

Conclusion

Altogether our results show that HP0231 is an oxidoreductase that catalyzes disulfide bond formation in the periplasm. We propose to call it HpDsbA.

Campylobacter jejuni dsb gene expression is regulated by iron in a Fur-dependent manner and by a translational coupling mechanism

BACKGROUND

Many bacterial extracytoplasmic proteins are stabilized by intramolecular disulfide bridges that are formed post-translationally between their cysteine residues. This protein modification plays an important role in bacterial pathogenesis, and is facilitated by the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of the redox proteins. These proteins function in two parallel pathways in the periplasmic space: an oxidation pathway and an isomerization pathway. The Dsb oxidative pathway in Campylobacter jejuni is more complex than the one in the laboratory E. coli K-12 strain.

RESULTS

In the C. jejuni 81-176 genome, the dsb genes of the oxidative pathway are arranged in three transcriptional units: dsbA2-dsbB-astA, dsbA1 and dba-dsbI. Their transcription responds to an environmental stimulus - iron availability - and is regulated in a Fur-dependent manner. Fur involvement in dsb gene regulation was proven by a reporter gene study in a C. jejuni wild type strain and its isogenic fur mutant. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) confirmed that analyzed genes are members of the Fur regulon but each of them is regulated by a disparate mechanism, and both the iron-free and the iron-complexed Fur are able to bind in vitro to the C. jejuni promoter regions. This study led to identification of a new iron- and Fur-regulated promoter that drives dsbA1 gene expression in an indirect way. Moreover, the present work documents that synthesis of DsbI oxidoreductase is controlled by the mechanism of translational coupling. The importance of a secondary dba-dsbI mRNA structure for dsbI mRNA translation was verified by estimating individual dsbI gene expression from its own promoter.

CONCLUSIONS

The present work shows that iron concentration is a significant factor in dsb gene transcription. These results support the concept that iron concentration - also through its influence on dsb gene expression - might control the abundance of extracytoplasmic proteins during different stages of infection. Our work further shows that synthesis of the DsbI membrane oxidoreductase is controlled by a translational coupling mechanism. The dba expression is not only essential for the translation of the downstream dsbI gene, but also Dba protein that is produced might regulate the activity and/or stability of DsbI.

Impact of proteomics on anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) vaccine development

Tuberculosis is a serious infection disease which causes more than two million deaths annually. The TB pandemic has continued despite widespread use of the only available licensed TB vaccine--Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). Additionally, the increasing incidences of multidrug resistant strains and coinfection with HIV mean that tuberculosis constitutes a growing global threat. Thus, improvement of the vaccination strategy against TB is an urgent need, requiring international cooperation of the research community. The completion of many mycobacterial genome sequences has greatly facilitated the global analysis at the transcriptome and proteome level. This in consequence has accelerated progress in the vaccinology field resulting in identification of a large numbers of antigens with potential in TB vaccines. This review concentrates on the proteomic contribution to TB vaccinology. At the end of the article some recent achievements of structural proteomics and developing an epitope-driven tuberculosis vaccine are presented.

[Immunoproteomics of Helicobacter pylori--strategy for improvement of diagnostic tests and vaccine development]

Helicobacter pylori, Gram-negative spiral-shaped bacteria, member of epsilon-Proteobacteria, colonizes the gastric mucosa of humans. H. pylori has been identified as the causative agent of chronic inflammation, chronic gastritis and peptic ulceration and is considered a risk factor for the development of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Although more than 50% of human population is infected with H. pylori only a subset develops disease. The completion of two H. pylori genome sequences revealed the enormous strain heterogeneity and permitted comparative proteome analysis. Immunoproteomics, a novel strategy combining standard proteomics with immunological screening, is currently method of choice for identification of new antigens of diagnostic and protective values. Highly specific antigens will be used as biomarkers of different pathology induced by H. pylori infection whereas novel highly immunogenic, conserved, abundant and surface-located proteins will facilitate efficient anti-Helicobacter vaccine construction.