Effects of deletion of the Streptococcus pneumoniae lipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase gene lgt on ABC transporter function and on growth in vivo

Lipoproteins are an important class of surface associated proteins that have diverse roles and frequently are involved in the virulence of bacterial pathogens. As prolipoproteins are attached to the cell membrane by a single enzyme, prolipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt), deletion of the corresponding gene potentially allows the characterisation of the overall importance of lipoproteins for specific bacterial functions. We have used a Δlgt mutant strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae to investigate the effects of loss of lipoprotein attachment on cation acquisition, growth in media containing specific carbon sources, and virulence in different infection models. Immunoblots of triton X-114 extracts, flow cytometry and immuno-fluorescence microscopy confirmed the Δlgt mutant had markedly reduced lipoprotein expression on the cell surface. The Δlgt mutant had reduced growth in cation depleted medium, increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, reduced zinc uptake, and reduced intracellular levels of several cations. Doubling time of the Δlgt mutant was also increased slightly when grown in medium with glucose, raffinose and maltotriose as sole carbon sources. These multiple defects in cation and sugar ABC transporter function for the Δlgt mutant were associated with only slightly delayed growth in complete medium. However the Δlgt mutant had significantly reduced growth in blood or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and a marked impairment in virulence in mouse models of nasopharyngeal colonisation, sepsis and pneumonia. These data suggest that for S. pneumoniae loss of surface localisation of lipoproteins has widespread effects on ABC transporter functions that collectively prevent the Δlgt mutant from establishing invasive infection

Oligomeric Coiled-Coil Adhesin YadA Is a Double-Edged Sword

Yersinia adhesin A (YadA) is an essential virulence factor for the food-borne pathogens Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Suprisingly, it is a pseudogene in Yersinia pestis. Even more intriguing, the introduction of a functional yadA gene in Y. pestis EV76 was shown to correlate with a decrease in virulence in a mouse model. Here, we report that wild type (wt) Y. enterocolitica E40, as well as YadA-deprived E40 induced the synthesis of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) upon contact with neutrophils, but only YadA-expressing Y. enterocolitica adhered to NETs and were killed. As binding seemed to be a prerequisite for killing, we searched for YadA-binding substrates and detected the presence of collagen within NETs. E40 bacteria expressing V98D,N99A mutant YadA with a severely reduced ability to bind collagen were found to be more resistant to killing, suggesting that collagen binding contributes significantly to sensitivity to NETs. Wt Y. pestis EV76 were resistant to killing by NETs, while recombinant EV76 expressing YadA from either Y. pseudotuberculosis or Y. enterocolitica were sensitive to killing by NETs, outlining the importance of YadA for susceptibility to NET-dependent killing. Recombinant EV76 endowed with YadA from Y. enterocolitica were also less virulent for the mouse than wt EV76, as shown before. In addition, EV76 carrying wt YadA were less virulent for the mouse than EV76 expressing YadAV98D,N99A. The observation that YadA makes Yersinia sensitive to NETs provides an explanation as for why evolution selected for the inactivation of yadA in the flea-borne Y. pestis and clarifies an old enigma. Since YadA imposes the same cost to the food-borne Yersinia but was nevertheless conserved by evolution, this observation also illustrates the duality of some virulence functions

Electron microscopy and in vitro deneddylation reveal similar architectures and biochemistry of isolated human and Flag-mouse COP9 signalosome complexes

The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a regulator of the ubiquitin (Ub) proteasome system (UPS). In the UPS, proteins are Ub-labeled for degradation by Ub ligases conferring substrate specificity. The CSN controls a large family of Ub ligases called cullin-RING ligases (CRLs), which ubiquitinate cell cycle regulators, transcription factors and DNA damage response proteins. The CSN possesses structural similarities with the 265 proteasome Lid complex and the translation initiation complex 3 (eIF3) indicating similar ancestry and function. Initial structures were obtained 14 years ago by 2D electron microscopy (EM). Recently, first 3D molecular models of the CSN were created on the basis of negative-stain EM and single-particle analysis, mostly with recombinant complexes. Here, we compare deneddylating activity and structural features of CSN complexes purified in an elaborate procedure from human erythrocytes and efficiently pulled down from mouse Flag-CSN2 B8 fibroblasts. In an in vitro deneddylation assay both the human and the mouse CSN complexes deneddylated Nedd8-Cul1 with comparable rates. 3D structural models of the erythrocyte CSN as well as of the mouse Flag-CSN were generated by negative stain EM and by cryo-EM. Both complexes show a central U-shaped segment from which several arms emanate. This structure, called the horseshoe, is formed by the PCI domain subunits. CSN5 and CSN6 point away from the horseshoe. Compared to 3D models of negatively stained CSN complexes, densities assigned to CSN2 and CSN4 are better defined in the cryo-map. Because biochemical and structural results obtained with CSN complexes isolated from human erythrocytes and purified by Flag-CSN pulldown from mouse B8 fibroblasts are very similar, Flag-CSN pulldowns are a proper alternative to CSN preparation from erythrocytes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

T cell homing to nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a very good candidate disease for treatment with adoptive T cell transfer. Uniformly Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)+, these tumours reportedly have functional antigen processing and presentation machinery and express viral proteins that contain known cytolytic T cell target epitopes. This raises the possibility that boosting relevant EBV-specific T cell immunity in NPC patients might defeat the tumour. The persistent nature of EBV infection may also encourage the long-term survival of therapeutically administered virus-specific cells. However, efficient delivery of tumour-specific T cells from the circulation to solid tumour tissue is a clear requirement for effective cellular therapy, yet the mechanisms by which T cells gain entry to NPC tumours have not yet been determined. The malignant cells of NPC are usually associated with a substantial lymphoid infiltrate mainly consisting of T cells. Using unmanipulated diagnostic biopsy samples, we have characterised chemokine receptor expression (CR) on tumour-infiltrating T cells, and established whether specific chemokine ligands are detectable at the NPC tumour site. We found that functional CXCR6 and CCR5 were expressed on tumour infiltrating T cells, consistent with the presence of specific ligands for these receptors at the tumour site. Furthermore, our data suggests that effector and regulatory cells may use shared homing mechanisms to gain entry to NPC tumours