The 1.14 Å Crystal Structure of Yeast Cytosine Deaminase Evolution of Nucleotide Salvage Enzymes and Implications for Genetic Chemotherapy

AbstractCytosine deaminase (CD) catalyzes the deamination of cytosine and is only present in prokaryotes and fungi, where it is a member of the pyrimidine salvage pathway. The enzyme is of interest both for antimicrobial drug design and gene therapy applications against tumors. The structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CD has been determined in the presence and absence of a mechanism-based inhibitor, at 1.14 and 1.43 Å resolution, respectively. The enzyme forms an α/β fold similar to bacterial cytidine deaminase, but with no similarity to the α/β barrel fold used by bacterial cytosine deaminase or mammalian adenosine deaminase. The structures observed for bacterial, fungal, and mammalian nucleic acid deaminases represent an example of the parallel evolution of two unique protein folds to carry out the same reaction on a diverse array of substrates

Clinical Research and Development of Tuberculosis Diagnostics: Moving From Silos to Synergy

The development, evaluation, and implementation of new and improved diagnostics have been identified as critical needs by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis researchers and clinicians alike. These needs exist in international and domestic settings and in adult and pediatric populations. Experts in tuberculosis and HIV care, researchers, healthcare providers, public health experts, and industry representatives, as well as representatives of pertinent US federal agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, United States Agency for International Development) assembled at a workshop proposed by the Diagnostics Working Group of the Federal Tuberculosis Taskforce to review the state of tuberculosis diagnostics development in adult and pediatric populations

Coordination of Chromosome Segregation and Cell Division in Staphylococcus aureus

Productive bacterial cell division and survival of progeny requires tight coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division to ensure equal partitioning of DNA. Unlike rod-shaped bacteria that undergo division in one plane, the coccoid human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus divides in three successive orthogonal planes, which requires a different spatial control compared to rod-shaped cells. To gain a better understanding of how this coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division is regulated in S. aureus, we investigated proteins that associate with FtsZ and the divisome. We found that DnaK, a well-known chaperone, interacts with FtsZ, EzrA and DivIVA, and is required for DivIVA stability. Unlike in several rod shaped organisms, DivIVA in S. aureus associates with several components of the divisome, as well as the chromosome segregation protein, SMC. This data, combined with phenotypic analysis of mutants, suggests a novel role for S. aureus DivIVA in ensuring cell division and chromosome segregation are coordinated

Listeria monocytogenes Internalin B Activates Junctional Endocytosis to Accelerate Intestinal Invasion

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) uses InlA to invade the tips of the intestinal villi, a location at which cell extrusion generates a transient defect in epithelial polarity that exposes the receptor for InlA, E-cadherin, on the cell surface. As the dying cell is removed from the epithelium, the surrounding cells reorganize to form a multicellular junction (MCJ) that Lm exploits to find its basolateral receptor and invade. By examining individual infected villi using 3D-confocal imaging, we uncovered a novel role for the second major invasin, InlB, during invasion of the intestine. We infected mice intragastrically with isogenic strains of Lm that express or lack InlB and that have a modified InlA capable of binding murine E-cadherin and found that Lm lacking InlB invade the same number of villi but have decreased numbers of bacteria within each infected villus tip. We studied the mechanism of InlB action at the MCJs of polarized MDCK monolayers and find that InlB does not act as an adhesin, but instead accelerates bacterial internalization after attachment. InlB locally activates its receptor, c-Met, and increases endocytosis of junctional components, including E-cadherin. We show that MCJs are naturally more endocytic than other sites of the apical membrane, that endocytosis and Lm invasion of MCJs depends on functional dynamin, and that c-Met activation by soluble InlB or hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) increases MCJ endocytosis. Also, in vivo, InlB applied through the intestinal lumen increases endocytosis at the villus tips. Our findings demonstrate a two-step mechanism of synergy between Lm's invasins: InlA provides the specificity of Lm adhesion to MCJs at the villus tips and InlB locally activates c-Met to accelerate junctional endocytosis and bacterial invasion of the intestine

Listeria pathogenesis and molecular virulence determinants

The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis, a highly fatal opportunistic foodborne infection. Pregnant women, neonates, the elderly, and debilitated or immunocompromised patients in general are predominantly affected, although the disease can also develop in normal individuals. Clinical manifestations of invasive listeriosis are usually severe and include abortion, sepsis, and meningoencephalitis. Listeriosis can also manifest as a febrile gastroenteritis syndrome. In addition to humans, L. monocytogenes affects many vertebrate species, including birds. Listeria ivanovii, a second pathogenic species of the genus, is specific for ruminants. Our current view of the pathophysiology of listeriosis derives largely from studies with the mouse infection model. Pathogenic listeriae enter the host primarily through the intestine. The liver is thought to be their first target organ after intestinal translocation. In the liver, listeriae actively multiply until the infection is controlled by a cell-mediated immune response. This initial, subclinical step of listeriosis is thought to be common due to the frequent presence of pathogenic L. monocytogenes in food. In normal indivuals, the continual exposure to listerial antigens probably contributes to the maintenance of anti-Listeria memory T cells. However, in debilitated and immunocompromised patients, the unrestricted proliferation of listeriae in the liver may result in prolonged low-level bacteremia, leading to invasion of the preferred secondary target organs (the brain and the gravid uterus) and to overt clinical disease. L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are facultative intracellular parasites able to survive in macrophages and to invade a variety of normally nonphagocytic cells, such as epithelial cells, hepatocytes, and endothelial cells. In all these cell types, pathogenic listeriae go through an intracellular life cycle involving early escape from the phagocytic vacuole, rapid intracytoplasmic multiplication, bacterially induced actin-based motility, and direct spread to neighboring cells, in which they reinitiate the cycle. In this way, listeriae disseminate in host tissues sheltered from the humoral arm of the immune system. Over the last 15 years, a number of virulence factors involved in key steps of this intracellular life cycle have been identified. This review describes in detail the molecular determinants of Listeria virulence and their mechanism of action and summarizes the current knowledge on the pathophysiology of listeriosis and the cell biology and host cell responses to Listeria infection. This article provides an updated perspective of the development of our understanding of Listeria pathogenesis from the first molecular genetic analyses of virulence mechanisms reported in 1985 until the start of the genomic era of Listeria research

1364 RESEARCH ARTICLES Design of a Novel Globular Protein Fold with Atomic-Level Accuracy

A major challenge of computational protein design is the creation of novel proteins with arbitrarily chosen three-dimensional structures. Here, we used a general computational strategy that iterates between sequence design and structure prediction to design a 93-residue �/ � protein called Top7 with a novel sequence and topology. Top7 was found experimentally to be folded and extremely stable, and the x-ray crystal structure of Top7 is similar (root mean square deviation equals 1.2 angstroms) to the design model. The ability to design a new protein fold makes possible the exploration of the large regions of the protein universe not yet observed in nature. There are a large but finite number of protein folds observed thus far in nature, and it is not clear whether the structures not yet observed are physically unrealizable or have simply not yet been sampled by the evolutionary process or characterized by a structural biologist

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens of High Serodiagnostic Value▿

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with several million new cases detected each year. Current methods of diagnosis are time-consuming and/or expensive or have a low level of accuracy. Therefore, new diagnostics are urgently needed to address the global tuberculosis burden and to improve control programs. Serological assays remain attractive for use in resource-limited settings because they are simple, rapid, and inexpensive and offer the possibility of detecting cases often missed by routine sputum smear microscopy. The aim of this study was to identify M. tuberculosis seroreactive antigens from a panel of 103 recombinant proteins selected as diagnostic candidates. Initial library screening by protein array analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) identified 42 antigens with serodiagnostic potential. Among these, 25 were novel proteins. The reactive antigens demonstrated various individual sensitivities, ranging from 12% to 78% (specificities, 76 to 100%). When the antigens were analyzed in combinations, up to 93% of antibody responders could be identified among the TB patients. Selected seroreactive proteins were used to design 3 new polyepitope fusion proteins. Characterization of these antigens by multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA) revealed that the vast majority of the TB patients (90%) produced antibody responses. The results confirmed that due to the remarkable variation in immune recognition patterns, an optimal multiantigen cocktail should be designed to cover the heterogeneity of antibody responses and thus achieve the highest possible test sensitivity