Dataset Information

Structural characterization of Treponema pallidum Tp0225 reveals an unexpected leucine-rich repeat architecture.

ABSTRACT: The phylogenetically divergent spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum is the causative agent of syphilis. Central to the capacity of T. pallidum to establish infection is the ability of the pathogen to attach to a diversity of host cells. Many pathogenic bacteria employ leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain-containing proteins to mediate protein-protein interactions, including attachment to host components and establishment of infection. Intriguingly, T. pallidum expresses only one putative LRR domain-containing protein (Tp0225) with an unknown function. In an effort to ascribe a function to Tp0225, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis was first performed; this investigation revealed that Tp0225 clusters with the pathogenic clade of treponemes. Its crystal structure was then determined to 2.0?Å resolution using Pt SAD phasing, which revealed a noncanonical architecture containing a hexameric LRR core with a discontinuous ?-sheet bridged by solvent molecules. Furthermore, a surface-exposed, hydrophobic pocket, which was found in Tp0225 but is largely absent in canonical LRR domains from other pathogenic bacteria, may serve to coordinate a hydrophobic ligand. Overall, this study provides the first structural characterization of the sole LRR domain-containing protein from T. pallidum and offers insight into the unique molecular landscape of this important human pathogen.

SUBMITTER: Ramaswamy R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6613448 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Structural characterization of Treponema pallidum Tp0225 reveals an unexpected leucine-rich repeat architecture.

Ramaswamy Raghavendran R Houston Simon S Loveless Bianca B Cameron Caroline E CE Boulanger Martin J MJ

Acta crystallographica. Section F, Structural biology communications 20190626 Pt 7

The phylogenetically divergent spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum is the causative agent of syphilis. Central to the capacity of T. pallidum to establish infection is the ability of the pathogen to attach to a diversity of host cells. Many pathogenic bacteria employ leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain-containing proteins to mediate protein-protein interactions, including attachment to host components and establishment of infection. Intriguingly, T. pallidum expresses only one p ...[more]

PMID: 31282868

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Monogenic autoinflammatory disorders are characterized by dysregulation of the innate immune system, for example by gain-of-function mutations in inflammasome-forming proteins, such as NOD-like receptor family CARD-containing 4 protein (NLRC4). OBJECTIVE:Here we investigate the mechanism by which a novel mutation in the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain of NLRC4 (c.G1965C, p.W655C) contributes to autoinflammatory disease. METHODS:We studied 2 unrelated patients with early-onset macrophage activation syndrome harboring the same de novo mutation in NLRC4. In vitro inflammasome complex formation was quantified by using flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) specks. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 techniques and lentiviral transduction were used to generate THP-1 cells with either wild-type or mutant NLRC4 cDNA. Cell death and release of IL-1?/IL-18 were quantified by using flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS:The p.W655C NLRC4 mutation caused increased ASC speck formation, caspase-1-dependent cell death, and IL-1?/IL-18 production. ASC contributed to p.W655C NLRC4-mediated cytokine release but not cell death. Mutation of p.W655 activated the NLRC4 inflammasome complex by engaging with 2 interfaces on the opposing LRR domain of the oligomer. One key set of residues (p.D1010, p.D1011, p.L1012, and p.I1015) participated in LRR-LRR oligomerization when triggered by mutant NLRC4 or type 3 secretion system effector (PrgI) stimulation of the NLRC4 inflammasome complex. CONCLUSION:This is the first report of a mutation in the LRR domain of NLRC4 causing autoinflammatory disease. c.G1965C/p.W655C NLRC4 increased inflammasome activation in vitro. Data generated from various NLRC4 mutations provides evidence that the LRR-LRR interface has an important and previously unrecognized role in oligomerization of the NLRC4 inflammasome complex.

Project description:Cryo-electron tomography (CET) was used to examine the native cellular organization of Treponema pallidum, the syphilis spirochete. T. pallidum cells appeared to form flat waves, did not contain an outer coat and, except for bulges over the basal bodies and widening in the vicinity of flagellar filaments, displayed a uniform periplasmic space. Although the outer membrane (OM) generally was smooth in contour, OM extrusions and blebs frequently were observed, highlighting the structure's fluidity and lack of attachment to underlying periplasmic constituents. Cytoplasmic filaments converged from their attachment points opposite the basal bodies to form arrays that ran roughly parallel to the flagellar filaments along the inner surface of the cytoplasmic membrane (CM). Motile treponemes stably attached to rabbit epithelial cells predominantly via their tips. CET revealed that T. pallidum cell ends have a complex morphology and assume at least four distinct morphotypes. Images of dividing treponemes and organisms shedding cell envelope-derived blebs provided evidence for the spirochete's complex membrane biology. In the regions without flagellar filaments, peptidoglycan (PG) was visualized as a thin layer that divided the periplasmic space into zones of higher and lower electron densities adjacent to the CM and OM, respectively. Flagellar filaments were observed overlying the PG layer, while image modeling placed the PG-basal body contact site in the vicinity of the stator-P-collar junction. Bioinformatics and homology modeling indicated that the MotB proteins of T. pallidum, Treponema denticola, and Borrelia burgdorferi have membrane topologies and PG binding sites highly similar to those of their well-characterized Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori orthologs. Collectively, our results help to clarify fundamental differences in cell envelope ultrastructure between spirochetes and gram-negative bacteria. They also confirm that PG stabilizes the flagellar motor and enable us to propose that in most spirochetes motility results from rotation of the flagellar filaments against the PG.

Dataset Information

Structural characterization of Treponema pallidum Tp0225 reveals an unexpected leucine-rich repeat architecture.

Publications

Structural characterization of Treponema pallidum Tp0225 reveals an unexpected leucine-rich repeat architecture.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets