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Appropriate DevR (DosR)-mediated signaling determines transcriptional response, hypoxic viability and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The DevR(DosR) regulon is implicated in hypoxic adaptation and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The present study was designed to decipher the impact of perturbation in DevR-mediated signaling on these properties. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:M. tb complemented (Comp) strains expressing different levels of DevR were constructed in Mut1* background (expressing DevR N-terminal domain in fusion with AphI (DevR(N)-Kan) and in Mut2?devR background (deletion mutant). They were compared for their hypoxia adaptation and virulence properties. Diverse phenotypes were noted; basal level expression (?5.3±2.3 µM) when induced to levels equivalent to WT levels (?25.8±9.3 µM) was associated with robust DevR regulon induction and hypoxic adaptation (Comp 9* and 10*), whereas low-level expression (detectable at transcript level) as in Comp 11* and Comp15 was associated with an adaptation defect. Intermediate-level expression (?3.3±1.2 µM) partially restored hypoxic adaptation functions in Comp2, but not in Comp1* bacteria that co-expressed DevR(N)-Kan. Comp* strains in Mut1* background also exhibited diverse virulence phenotypes; high/very low-level DevR expression was associated with virulence whereas intermediate-level expression was associated with low virulence. Transcription profiling and gene expression analysis revealed up-regulation of the phosphate starvation response (PSR) in Mut1* and Comp11* bacteria, but not in WT/Mut2?devR/other Comp strains, indicating a plasticity in expression pathways that is determined by the magnitude of signaling perturbation through DevR(N)-Kan. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:A minimum DevR concentration of ?3.3±1.2 µM (as in Comp2 bacteria) is required to support HspX expression in the standing culture hypoxia model. The relative intracellular concentrations of DevR and DevR(N)-Kan appear to be critical for determining dormancy regulon induction, hypoxic adaptation and virulence. Dysregulated DevR(N)-Kan-mediated signaling selectively triggers the PSR in bacteria expressing no/very low level of DevR. Our findings illustrate the important role of appropriate two-component-mediated signaling in pathogen physiology and the resilience of bacteria when such signaling is perturbed.

SUBMITTER: Majumdar SD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3338549 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Appropriate DevR (DosR)-mediated signaling determines transcriptional response, hypoxic viability and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Majumdar Shyamasree De SD Vashist Atul A Dhingra Sakshi S Gupta Rajesh R Singh Alka A Challu Vijay K VK Ramanathan V D VD Kumar Prahlad P Tyagi Jaya Sivaswami JS

PloS one 20120426 4

<h4>Background</h4>The DevR(DosR) regulon is implicated in hypoxic adaptation and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The present study was designed to decipher the impact of perturbation in DevR-mediated signaling on these properties.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>M. tb complemented (Comp) strains expressing different levels of DevR were constructed in Mut1* background (expressing DevR N-terminal domain in fusion with AphI (DevR(N)-Kan) and in Mut2ΔdevR background (deletion mutant) ...[more]

PMID: 22563409

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Project description:DevR/DosR is a well-characterized regulator in Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is implicated in various processes ranging from dormancy/persistence to drug tolerance. DevR induces the expression of an ~48-gene dormancy regulon in response to gaseous stresses, including hypoxia. Strains of the Beijing lineage constitutively express this regulon, which may confer upon them a significant advantage, since they would be 'pre-adapted' to the environmental stresses that predominate during infection. Aerobic DevR regulon expression in laboratory-manipulated overexpression strains is also reported. In both instances, the need for an inducing signal is bypassed. While a phosphorylation-mediated conformational change in DevR was proposed as the activation mechanism under hypoxia, the mechanism underlying constitutive expression is not understood. Because DevR is implicated in bacterial dormancy/persistence and is a promising drug target, it is relevant to resolve the mechanistic puzzle of hypoxic activation on one hand and constitutive expression under 'non-inducing' conditions on the other. Here, an overexpression strategy was employed to elucidate the DevR activation mechanism. Using a panel of kinase and transcription factor mutants, we establish that DevR, upon overexpression, circumvents DevS/DosT sensor kinase-mediated or small molecule phosphodonor-dependent activation, and also cooperativity-mediated effects, which are key aspects of hypoxic activation mechanism. However, overexpression failed to rescue the defect of C-terminal-truncated DevR lacking the ?10 helix, establishing the ?10 helix as an indispensable component of DevR activation mechanism. We propose that aerobic overexpression of DevR likely increases the concentration of ?10 helix-mediated active dimer species to above the threshold level, as during hypoxia, and enables regulon expression. This advance in the understanding of DevR activation mechanism clarifies a long standing question as to the mechanism of DevR overexpression-mediated induction of the regulon in the absence of the normal environmental cue and establishes the ?10 helix as an universal and pivotal targeting interface for DevR inhibitor development.

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Appropriate DevR (DosR)-mediated signaling determines transcriptional response, hypoxic viability and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Publications

Appropriate DevR (DosR)-mediated signaling determines transcriptional response, hypoxic viability and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

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