Virtual screening for potential inhibitors of β(1,3)-D-glucan synthase as drug candidates against fungal cell wall.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Farhadi Z
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7144292 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:(1,3)-β-d-Glucan synthase (GS) catalyzes formation of the linear (1,3)-β-d-glucan in the fungal cell wall and is a target of clinically approved antifungal antibiotics. The catalytic subunit of GS, FKS protein, does not exhibit significant sequence homology to other glycosyltransferases, and thus, significant ambiguity about its catalytic mechanism remains. One of the major technical barriers in studying GS is the absence of activity assay methods that allow characterization of the lengths and amounts of (1,3)-β-d-glucan due to its poor solubility in water and organic solvents. Here, we report a successful development of a novel GS activity assay based on size-exclusion chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and radiation counting (SEC-PAD-RC), which allows for the simultaneous characterization of the amount and length of the polymer product. The assay revealed that the purified yeast GS produces glucan with a length of 6550 ± 760 mer, consistent with the reported degree of polymerization of (1,3)-β-d-glucan isolated from intact cells. Pre-steady state kinetic analysis revealed a highly efficient but rate-determining chain elongation rate of 51.5 ± 9.8 s-1, which represents the first observation of chain elongation by a nucleotide-sugar-dependent polysaccharide synthase. Coupling the SEC-PAD-RC method with substrate analogue mechanistic probes provided the first unambiguous evidence that GS catalyzes non-reducing end polymerization. On the basis of these observations, we propose a detailed model for the catalytic mechanism of GS. The approaches described here can be used to determine the mechanism of catalysis of other polysaccharide synthases.
| S-EPMC7015794 | biostudies-literature
Project description:beta-Glucans are the main components of the fungal cell wall. Fission yeast possesses a family of beta-glucan synthase-related genes. We describe here the cloning and characterization of bgs3(+), a new member of this family. bgs3(+) was cloned as a suppressor of a mutant hypersensitive to Echinocandin and Calcofluor White, drugs that interfere with cell wall biosynthesis. Disruption of the gene is lethal, and a decrease in Bgs3p levels leads to rounded cells with thicker walls, slightly reduces the amount of the beta-glucan, and raises the amount of alpha-glucan polymer. These cells finally died. bgs3(+) is expressed in vegetative cells grown in different conditions and during mating and germination and is not enhanced by stress situations. Consistent with the observed expression pattern, Bgs3-green fluorescence protein (GFP-Bgs3p) was found at the growing tips during interphase and at the septum prior to cytokinesis, always localized to growth areas. We also found GFP-Bgs3p in mating projections, during the early stages of zygote formation, and at the growing pole during ascospore germination. We conclude that Bgs3p localization is restricted to growth areas and that Bgs3p is a glucan synthase homologue required for cell wall biosynthesis and cell elongation in the fission yeast life cycle.
| S-EPMC141170 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The present work reports the effects of caspofungin, a ?-1,3-glucan synthase inhibitor, and nikkomycin Z, an inhibitor of chitin synthases, on two strains of Alternaria infectoria, a melanized fungus involved in opportunistic human infections and respiratory allergies. One of the strains tested, IMF006, bore phenotypic traits that conferred advantages in resisting antifungal treatment. First, the resting cell wall chitin content was higher and in response to caspofungin, the chitin level remained constant. In the other strain, IMF001, the chitin content increased upon caspofungin treatment to values similar to basal IMF006 levels. Moreover, upon caspofungin treatment, the FKS1 gene was upregulated in IMF006 and downregulated in IMF001. In addition, the resting ?-glucan content was also different in both strains, with higher levels in IMF001 than in IMF006. However, this did not provide any advantage with respect to echinocandin resistance. We identified eight different chitin synthase genes and studied relative gene expression when the fungus was exposed to the antifungals under study. In both strains, exposure to caspofungin and nikkomycin Z led to modulation of the expression of class V and VII chitin synthase genes, suggesting its importance in the robustness of A. infectoria. The pattern of A. infectoria phagocytosis and activation of murine macrophages by spores was not affected by caspofungin. Monotherapy with nikkomycin Z and caspofungin provided only fungistatic inhibition, while a combination of both led to fungal cell lysis, revealing a strong synergistic action between the chitin synthase inhibitor and the ?-glucan synthase inhibitor against this fungus.
| S-EPMC3993226 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The cell wall, a mesh of carbohydrates and proteins, shapes and protects the fungal cell. The enzyme responsible for the synthesis of one of the main components of the fungal wall, 1,3-beta-glucan synthase, is targeted by the antifungal caspofungin acetate (CFA). Clinical isolates of Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus are much more sensitive to CFA than clinical isolates of Fusarium species. To better understand CFA resistance in Fusarium species, we cloned and sequenced FsFKS1, which encodes the Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi beta(1,3)-D-glucan synthase, used RNA interference to reduce its expression and complemented deletion of the essential fks gene of the CFA-sensitive fungus A. fumigatus with FsFKS1. Reduction of the FsFKS1 message in F. solani f. sp. pisi reduced spore viability and caused lysis of spores and hyphae, consistent with cell wall defects. Compensating for the loss of A. fumigatus fks1 with FsFKS1 caused only a modest increase in the tolerance of A. fumigatus for CFA. Our results suggest that FsFKS1 is required for the proper construction of F. solani cell walls and that the resistance of F. solani to CFA is at best only partially due to resistance of the FsFKS1 enzyme to this antifungal agent.
| S-EPMC1489279 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Anti-beta-glucan antibodies elicited by a laminarin-conjugate vaccine confer cross-protection to mice challenged with major fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. To gain insights into protective beta-glucan epitope(s) and protection mechanisms, we studied two anti-beta-glucan monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with identical complementarity-determining regions but different isotypes (mAb 2G8, IgG2b and mAb 1E12, IgM). C. albicans, the most relevant fungal pathogen for humans, was used as a model.Both mAbs bound to fungal cell surface and to the beta1,3-beta1,6 glucan of the fungal cell wall skeleton, as shown by immunofluorescence, electron-microscopy and ELISA. They were also equally unable to opsonize fungal cells in a J774 macrophage phagocytosis and killing assay. However, only the IgG2b conferred substantial protection against mucosal and systemic candidiasis in passive vaccination experiments in rodents. Competition ELISA and microarray analyses using sequence-defined glucan oligosaccharides showed that the protective IgG2b selectively bound to beta1,3-linked (laminarin-like) glucose sequences whereas the non-protective IgM bound to beta1,6- and beta1,4-linked glucose sequences in addition to beta1,3-linked ones. Only the protective IgG2b recognized heterogeneous, polydisperse high molecular weight cell wall and secretory components of the fungus, two of which were identified as the GPI-anchored cell wall proteins Als3 and Hyr1. In addition, only the IgG2b inhibited in vitro two critical virulence attributes of the fungus, hyphal growth and adherence to human epithelial cells.Our study demonstrates that the isotype of anti-beta-glucan antibodies may affect details of the beta-glucan epitopes recognized, and this may be associated with a differing ability to inhibit virulence attributes of the fungus and confer protection in vivo. Our data also suggest that the anti-virulence properties of the IgG2b mAb may be linked to its capacity to recognize beta-glucan epitope(s) on some cell wall components that exert critical functions in fungal cell wall structure and adherence to host cells.
| S-EPMC2670538 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The glucan synthase 1 gene (gs-1) is required for (1,3) beta-glucan synthase activity [E.C. 2.4.1.34; UDP glucose:1,3-beta-D-glucan 3-beta-D-glucosyltransferase] and for cell wall formation. The gs-1 gene was cloned by functional complementation of the cell-wall-less defect of the (1,3) beta-glucan synthase-deficient mutant, TM1, by using a genomic Neurospora crassa cosmid library. A 2568-nucleotide gs-1 cDNA sequence revealed a 532-amino acid open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 59 kDa. The predicted gs-1 gene product has no obvious signal peptide cleavage sites or transmembrane domains. A gs-1 null mutant is defective for cell wall formation and (1,3) beta-glucan synthase activity. The predicted GS-1 protein is weakly homologous to a putative Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional regulatory protein.
| S-EPMC44840 | biostudies-other
Project description:Spore formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves the sequential deposition of multiple spore wall layers between the prospore membranes that surround each meiotic product. The Smk1p mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase plays a critical role in spore formation, but the proteins that interact with Smk1p to regulate spore morphogenesis have not been described. Using mass spectrometry, we identify Gsc2p as a Smk1p-associated protein. Gsc2p is a 1,3-beta-glucan synthase subunit involved in synthesizing an inner spore wall layer. We find that 1,3-beta-glucan synthase activity is elevated in smk1 mutants, suggesting that SMK1 negatively regulates GSC2. Although deposition of the two inner spore wall layers is normal in smk1 mutants, deposition of the outer layers is aberrant. However, eliminating GSC2 activity restores normal deposition of the third spore wall layer in smk1 mutants, indicating that negative regulation of GSC2 by SMK1 is important for spore wall deposition. Our findings suggest a model for the coordination of spore wall layer deposition in which Smk1p facilitates the transition between early and late phases of spore wall deposition by inhibiting a spore wall-synthesizing enzyme important for early phases of spore wall deposition.
| S-EPMC1194906 | biostudies-other
Project description:Acanthamoeba castellanii (Ac) and macrophages share structural, morphological, physiological and biochemical similarities, including the ability to phagocyte a myriad of microorganisms in the environments they live. Whereas there is voluminous information on phagocytic receptors of macrophages, for Ac, the understanding of how the recognition of extracellular microorganisms works still awaits elucidation. Recently, our group described mannose-binding proteins expressed on the surface of the trophozoites. However, as soluble mannose did not inhibit entirely the process, other interactions might be possible. In the present work, we aimed to characterize the potential Ac proteins able to recognize the polysaccharide β-1,3-glucan on fungal surfaces. Our data demonstrate that Ac could bind curdlan or laminarin on its surface as detected by Dectin-1-Fc and fluorescent conjugate, suggesting the presence of β-1,3-glucan binding molecules. Optical tweezers detected higher adhesion affinity of laminarin or curdlan coated beads to A. castellanii (characteristic time of 46.9 s and 43.9 s, respectively) in comparison control beads (BSA or dextran-coated). In agreement, a H. capsulatum (Hc) G217B having β-1,3-glucan as the most external layer strongly adhered to Ac (characteristic time of 5.3 s), whereas Hc G186A, an α-1,3-glucan expressing strain, displayed much lower adhesion forces (characteristic time of 83.6 s). The specificity of our system was confirmed with addition of soluble β-1,3-glucan, which inhibited dramatically the adhesion of Hc G217B to Ac (characteristic time of 38,5 s). By indirect ELISA, the biotinylated extract of Ac showed higher binding to Hc G217B surface than Hc G186A, as similar results were observed when using Dectin-1-Fc. By interaction assays, association rates to Ac and RAW macrophages were twice higher for Hc G217B when compared to Hc G186A. Inhibitions with mannose, or its combinations with curdlan or laminarin demonstrated inhibitions higher than 50% during Ac and Hc G217B interaction. For RAW macrophages, the combinations mannose + laminarin and mannose + curdlan had inhibition of 64.4% and 51.5%, respectively, in the interaction with Hc G217B. The killing assay show that for A. castellanii, there was a decrease in the number of viable fungi when either laminarin and curdlan were added, which is similar to results observed with macrophages, suggesting the participation of this receptor for fungal entrance and survival within phagocytes. Proteomics identified several proteins with the capacity to bind β-1,3-glucans, including a membrane integral component (L8HDD6) displaying a legume lectin domain and also belonging to the Concanavalin A-like lectin/glucanase domain superfamily. By the demonstrated binding specificity of this receptor, our data reinforce other pathways of fungal recognition and suggests to a possible parallel or even divergent evolution, between A. castellanii and macrophages.
2022-12-02 | PXD028907 | Pride
Project description:BACKGROUND: Callose (beta-1,3 glucan) separates developing pollen grains, preventing their underlying walls (exine) from fusing. The pollen tubes that transport sperm to female gametes also contain callose, both in their walls as well as in the plugs that segment growing tubes. Mutations in CalS5, one of several Arabidopsis beta-1,3 glucan synthases, were previously shown to disrupt callose formation around developing microspores, causing aberrations in exine patterning, degeneration of developing microspores, and pollen sterility. RESULTS: Here, we describe three additional cals5 alleles that similarly alter exine patterns, but instead produce fertile pollen. Moreover, one of these alleles (cals5-3) resulted in the formation of pollen tubes that lacked callose walls and plugs. In self-pollinated plants, these tubes led to successful fertilization, but they were at a slight disadvantage when competing with wild type. CONCLUSION: Contrary to a previous report, these results demonstrate that a structured exine layer is not required for pollen development, viability or fertility. In addition, despite the presence of callose-enriched walls and callose plugs in pollen tubes, the results presented here indicate that callose is not required for pollen tube functions.
| S-EPMC1274334 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cytokinesis has been extensively studied in different models, but the role of the extracellular cell wall is less understood. Here we studied this process in fission yeast. The essential protein Bgs4 synthesizes the main cell wall β(1,3)glucan. We show that Bgs4-derived β(1,3)glucan is required for correct and stable actomyosin ring positioning in the cell middle, before the start of septum formation and anchorage to the cell wall. Consequently, β(1,3)glucan loss generated ring sliding, oblique positioned rings and septa, misdirected septum synthesis indicative of relaxed rings, and uncoupling between a fast ring and membrane ingression and slow septum synthesis, suggesting that cytokinesis can progress with defective septum pushing and/or ring pulling forces. Moreover, Bgs4-derived β(1,3)glucan is essential for secondary septum formation and correct primary septum completion. Therefore, our results show that extracellular β(1,3)glucan is required for cytokinesis to connect the cell wall with the plasma membrane and for contractile ring function, as proposed for the equivalent extracellular matrix in animal cells.
| S-EPMC3812973 | biostudies-literature