P110 and P140 Cytadherence-Related Proteins Are Negative Effectors of Terminal Organelle Duplication in Mycoplasma genitalium

BACKGROUND:The terminal organelle is a complex structure involved in many aspects of the biology of mycoplasmas such as cell adherence, motility or cell division. Mycoplasma genitalium cells display a single terminal organelle and duplicate this structure prior to cytokinesis in a coordinated manner with the cell division process. Despite the significance of the terminal organelle in mycoplasma virulence, little is known about the mechanisms governing its duplication. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In this study we describe the isolation of a mutant, named T192, with a transposon insertion close to the 3' end of the mg192 gene encoding for P110 adhesin. This mutant shows a truncated P110, low levels of P140 and P110 adhesins, a large number of non-motile cells and a high frequency of new terminal organelle formation. Further analyses revealed that the high rates of new terminal organelle formation in T192 cells are a direct consequence of the reduced levels of P110 and P140 rather than to the expression of a truncated P110. Consistently, the phenotype of the T192 mutant was successfully complemented by the reintroduction of the mg192 WT allele which restored the levels of P110 and P140 to those of the WT strain. Quantification of DAPI-stained DNA also showed that the increase in the number of terminal organelles in T192 cells is not accompanied by a higher DNA content, indicating that terminal organelle duplication does not trigger DNA replication in mycoplasmas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our results demonstrate the existence of a mechanism regulating terminal organelle duplication in M. genitalium and strongly suggest the implication of P110 and P140 adhesins in this mechanism

A Rapid Subtractive Immunization Method to Prepare Discriminatory Monoclonal Antibodies for Food E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

To detect food E. coli O157:H7 contamination rapidly and accurately, it is essential to prepare high specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the pathogen. Cyclophosphamide (Cy)-mediated subtractive immunization strategy was performed in mice to generate mAbs that react with E. coli O157:H7, but not with other affiliated bacteria. Specificity of 19 mAbs was evaluated by ELISA and/or dot-immunogold filtration assay (DIGFA). Immunogloubin typing, affinity and binding antigens of 5 selected mAbs were also analysed. MAbs 1D8, 4A7, 5A2 were found to have high reactivity with E. coli O157:H7 and no cross-reactivity with 80 other strains of bacteria including Salmonella sp., Shigella sp., Proteus sp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii and other non-E. coli O157:H7 enteric bacteria. Their ascetic titers reached 1∶106 with E. coli O157:H7 and affinity constants ranged from 1.57×1010 to 2.79×1010 L/mol. The antigens recognized by them were different localized proteins. Furthermore, immune-colloidal gold probe coated with mAb 5A2 could specifically distinguish minced beef contaminated by E. coli O157:H7 from 84 other bacterial contaminations. The Cy-mediated subtractive immunization procedure coupled with hybridoma technology is a rapid and efficient approach to prepare discriminatory mAbs for detection of E. coli O157:H7 contamination in food

Disruption of the integrin-linked kinase (ILK) pseudokinase domain affects kidney development in mice.

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK), a central component of the intracellular ILK–pinch–parvin complex, localizes together with paxillin to focal adhesions and regulates integrin-mediated cell functions. ILK was initially misclassified as a kinase based on phenotypical characterization of cells expressing ILK mutated in the “kinase” domain, such as the E359K and K220M mutants and a V386G/T387G mutation in the paxillin-binding site (PBS). ILK is now known to be a pseudokinase, and mechanisms of action of these mutants are not clear. We selectively induced expression of only the E359K, PBS, and K220M ILK mutations in the developing kidney collecting system and kidney collecting duct (CD) cells and analyzed their impact on structural integrity using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Mice or CD cells carrying the E359K mutation had a severe phenotype that is indistinguishable from ILK-null mice or ILK-null CD cells. The K220M mutant mice developed normally, and K220M-CD cells had a mild adhesion, migration, and tubulogenesis defect. The PBS mutant mice had a subtle developmental defect, and PBS-CD cells had moderate functional abnormalities. Consistent with these observed phenotypes, MD studies suggest that the E359K mutant produces the most structurally perturbed, and K220M the most WT-like ILK molecules. Although all three mutations disrupted ILK binding to parvin and paxillin in vitro, only the E359K mutation decreased ILK binding to pinch suggesting that it increases ILK misfolding. Thus, point mutations in the ILK pseudokinase domain cause functional abnormalities by altering the ILK structure, leading to increased turnover and destabilization of ILK–parvin and (sometimes) ILK–pinch interactions. The integrin-linked kinase (ILK)–pinch–parvin (IPP) complex is a critical component of focal adhesions that binds to the cytoplasmic tail of the integrin β subunits. Integrins, composed of an α and a β subunit, are the principal receptors that mediate cell–extracellular matrix interactions and regulate many cell functions, including adhesion, spreading, migration, polarization, and tubulogenesis. ILK is a 450 amino acid multidomain