Dataset Information

ATPase-independent type-III protein secretion in Salmonella enterica.

ABSTRACT: Type-III protein secretion systems are utilized by gram-negative pathogens to secrete building blocks of the bacterial flagellum, virulence effectors from the cytoplasm into host cells, and structural subunits of the needle complex. The flagellar type-III secretion apparatus utilizes both the energy of the proton motive force and ATP hydrolysis to energize substrate unfolding and translocation. We report formation of functional flagella in the absence of type-III ATPase activity by mutations that increased the proton motive force and flagellar substrate levels. We additionally show that increased proton motive force bypassed the requirement of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 virulence-associated type-III ATPase for secretion. Our data support a role for type-III ATPases in enhancing secretion efficiency under limited secretion substrate concentrations and reveal the dispensability of ATPase activity in the type-III protein export process.

SUBMITTER: Erhardt M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4230889 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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ATPase-independent type-III protein secretion in Salmonella enterica.

Erhardt Marc M Mertens Max E ME Fabiani Florian D FD Hughes Kelly T KT

PLoS genetics 20141113 11

Type-III protein secretion systems are utilized by gram-negative pathogens to secrete building blocks of the bacterial flagellum, virulence effectors from the cytoplasm into host cells, and structural subunits of the needle complex. The flagellar type-III secretion apparatus utilizes both the energy of the proton motive force and ATP hydrolysis to energize substrate unfolding and translocation. We report formation of functional flagella in the absence of type-III ATPase activity by mutations tha ...[more]

PMID: 25393010

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Project description:Strains of the various Salmonella enterica serovars cause gastroenteritis or typhoid fever in humans, with virulence depending on the action of two type III secretion systems (Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 [SPI-1] and SPI-2). SptP is a Salmonella SPI-1 effector, involved in mediating recovery of the host cytoskeleton postinfection. SptP requires a chaperone, SicP, for stability and secretion. SptP has 94% identity between S. enterica serovar Typhimurium and S Typhi; direct comparison of the protein sequences revealed that S Typhi SptP has numerous amino acid changes within its chaperone-binding domain. Subsequent comparison of ΔsptP S Typhi and S. Typhimurium strains demonstrated that, unlike SptP in S. Typhimurium, SptP in S Typhi was not involved in invasion or cytoskeletal recovery postinfection. Investigation of whether the observed amino acid changes within SptP of S Typhi affected its function revealed that S Typhi SptP was unable to complement S. Typhimurium ΔsptP due to an absence of secretion. We further demonstrated that while S. Typhimurium SptP is stable intracellularly within S Typhi, S Typhi SptP is unstable, although stability could be recovered following replacement of the chaperone-binding domain with that of S. Typhimurium. Direct assessment of the strength of the interaction between SptP and SicP of both serovars via bacterial two-hybrid analysis demonstrated that S Typhi SptP has a significantly weaker interaction with SicP than the equivalent proteins in S. Typhimurium. Taken together, our results suggest that changes within the chaperone-binding domain of SptP in S Typhi hinder binding to its chaperone, resulting in instability, preventing translocation, and therefore restricting the intracellular activity of this effector. Studies investigating Salmonella pathogenesis typically rely on Salmonella Typhimurium, even though Salmonella Typhi causes the more severe disease in humans. As such, an understanding of S. Typhi pathogenesis is lacking. Differences within the type III secretion system effector SptP between typhoidal and nontyphoidal serovars led us to characterize this effector within S Typhi. Our results suggest that SptP is not translocated from typhoidal serovars, even though the loss of sptP results in virulence defects in S. Typhimurium. Although SptP is just one effector, our results exemplify that the behavior of these serovars is significantly different and genes identified to be important for S. Typhimurium virulence may not translate to S Typhi.

Project description:UnlabelledType III secretion systems (T3SSs) are multiprotein machines employed by many Gram-negative bacteria to inject bacterial effector proteins into eukaryotic host cells to promote bacterial survival and colonization. The core unit of T3SSs is the needle complex, a supramolecular structure that mediates the passage of the secreted proteins through the bacterial envelope. A distinct feature of the T3SS is that protein export occurs in a strictly hierarchical manner in which proteins destined to form the needle complex filament and associated structures are secreted first, followed by the secretion of effectors and the proteins that will facilitate their translocation through the target host cell membrane. The secretion hierarchy is established by complex mechanisms that involve several T3SS-associated components, including the "switch protein," a highly conserved, inner membrane protease that undergoes autocatalytic cleavage. It has been proposed that the autocleavage of the switch protein is the trigger for substrate switching. We show here that autocleavage of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium switch protein SpaS is an unregulated process that occurs after its folding and before its incorporation into the needle complex. Needle complexes assembled with a precleaved form of SpaS function in a manner indistinguishable from that of the wild-type form. Furthermore, an engineered mutant of SpaS that is processed by an external protease also displays wild-type function. These results demonstrate that the cleavage event per se does not provide a signal for substrate switching but support the hypothesis that cleavage allows the proper conformation of SpaS to render it competent for its switching function.ImportanceBacterial interaction with eukaryotic hosts often involves complex molecular machines for targeted delivery of bacterial effector proteins. One such machine, the type III secretion system of some Gram-negative bacteria, serves to inject a multitude of structurally diverse bacterial proteins into the host cell. Critical to the function of these systems is their ability to secrete proteins in a strict hierarchical order, but it is unclear how the mechanism of switching works. Central to the switching mechanism is a highly conserved inner membrane protease that undergoes autocatalytic cleavage. Although it has been suggested previously that the autocleavage event is the trigger for substrate switching, we show here that this is not the case. Rather, our results show that cleavage allows the proper conformation of the protein to render it competent for its switching function. These findings may help develop inhibitors of type III secretion machines that offer novel therapeutic avenues to treat various infectious diseases.

Dataset Information

ATPase-independent type-III protein secretion in Salmonella enterica.

Publications

ATPase-independent type-III protein secretion in Salmonella enterica.

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