Project description:Mycobacterial Clp-family proteases function via collaboration of the heteromeric ClpP1P2 peptidase with a AAA+ partner, ClpX or ClpC1. These enzymes are essential for M. tuberculosis viability and are validated antibacterial drug targets, but the requirements for assembly and regulation of functional proteolytic complexes are poorly understood. Here, we report the reconstitution of protein degradation by mycobacterial Clp proteases in vitro and describe novel features of these enzymes that distinguish them from orthologues in other bacteria. Both ClpX and ClpC1 catalyse ATP-dependent unfolding and degradation of native protein substrates in conjunction with ClpP1P2, but neither mediates protein degradation with just ClpP1 or ClpP2. ClpP1P2 alone has negligible peptidase activity, but is strongly stimulated by translocation of protein substrates into ClpP1P2 by either AAA+ partner. Interestingly, our results support a model in which both binding of a AAA+ partner and protein-substrate delivery are required to stabilize active ClpP1P2. Our model has implications for therapeutically targeting ClpP1P2 in dormant M. tuberculosis, and our reconstituted systems should facilitate identification of novel Clp protease inhibitors and activators.
Project description:The worldwide spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has lent urgency to the search for antibiotics with new modes of action that are devoid of preexisting cross-resistances. We previously described a unique class of acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs) that exerts prominent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive pathogens including streptococci, enterococci, as well as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we report that ADEP prevents cell division in Gram-positive bacteria and induces strong filamentation of rod-shaped Bacillus subtilis and swelling of coccoid S. aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. It emerged that ADEP treatment inhibits septum formation at the stage of Z-ring assembly, and that central cell division proteins delocalize from midcell positions. Using in vivo and in vitro studies, we show that the inhibition of Z-ring formation is a consequence of the proteolytic degradation of the essential cell division protein FtsZ. ADEP switches the bacterial ClpP peptidase from a regulated to an uncontrolled protease, and it turned out that FtsZ is particularly prone to degradation by the ADEP-ClpP complex. By preventing cell division, ADEP inhibits a vital cellular process of bacteria that is not targeted by any therapeutically applied antibiotic so far. Their unique multifaceted mechanism of action and antibacterial potency makes them promising lead structures for future antibiotic development.
Project description:An iterative design strategy using three criteria was utilized to develop a peptidase-resistant substrate peptide for protein kinase B. Libraries of peptides possessing non-native amino acids were screened for time to 50% phosphorylation, degradation half-life within a lysate, and appearance of a dominant fragment. The lead peptide possessed a half-life of 92 ± 7 and 16 ± 2 min in HeLa and LNCaP cytosolic lysates, respectively, representing a 4.6- and 2.7-fold lifetime improvement over that of the starting peptide. The redesigned peptide possessed a 4.5-fold improvement in phosphorylation efficiency compared to the starting peptide. The same peptide fragments were formed when the lead peptide was incubated in a lysate or loaded into single cells although the fragments formed in significantly different ratios suggesting that distinct peptidases metabolized the peptide in the two preparations. The rate of peptide degradation and phosphorylation was on average 0.1 ± 0.2 zmol pg(-1) s(-1) and 0.04 ± 0.08 zmol pg(-1) s(-1), respectively, for single LNCaP cells loaded with 4 ± 8 ?M of peptide. Peptidase-resistant kinase substrates should find widespread utility in both lysate-based and single-cell assays of kinase activity.
Project description:Caseinolytic peptidase P (ClpP), a double-ring peptidase with 14 subunits, collaborates with ATPases associated with diverse activities (AAA+) partners to execute ATP-dependent protein degradation. Although many ClpP enzymes self-assemble into catalytically active homo-tetradecamers able to cleave small peptides, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis enzyme consists of discrete ClpP1 and ClpP2 heptamers that require a AAA+ partner and protein-substrate delivery or a peptide agonist to stabilize assembly of the active tetradecamer. Here, we show that cyclic acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs) and agonist peptides synergistically activate ClpP1P2 by mimicking AAA+ partners and substrates, respectively, and determine the structure of the activated complex. Our studies establish the basis of heteromeric ClpP1P2 assembly and function, reveal tight coupling between the conformations of each ring, show that ADEPs bind only to one ring but appear to open the axial pores of both rings, provide a foundation for rational drug development, and suggest strategies for studying the roles of individual ClpP1 and ClpP2 rings in Clp-family proteolysis.
Project description:Purpose: The goal of this study is to compare RNA-seq libraries of wildtype Caulobacter crescentus with two lon deletion strains (delta lon and delta lon clpX*). Methods: See Methods section of "Plasticity in AAA+ proteases reveals substrate specificity niches" for information regarding methods or contact lead correspondence. Briefly, Samples for RNAseq were extracted from wt and lon deletion strains grown to stationary phase. Conclusions: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of lon deletions (delta lon and delta lon clpX*) comparison to wt caulobacter transcriptomes, with biologic replicates, generated by RNA-seq technology in stationary phas
Project description:ClpP is a serine protease whose active sites are sequestered in a cavity enclosed between two heptameric rings of subunits. The ability of ClpP to process folded protein substrates depends on its being partnered by an AAA+ ATPase/unfoldase, ClpA or ClpX. In active complexes, substrates are unfolded and fed along an axial channel to the degradation chamber inside ClpP. We have used cryoelectron microscopy at approximately 11-A resolution to investigate the three-dimensional structure of ClpP complexed with either one or two end-mounted ClpA hexamers. In the absence of ClpA, the apical region of ClpP is sealed; however, it opens on ClpA binding, creating an access channel. This region is occupied by the N-terminal loops (residues 1-17) of ClpP, which tend to be poorly visible in crystal structures, indicative of conformational variability. Nevertheless, we were able to model the closed-to-open transition that accompanies ClpA binding in terms of movements of these loops; in particular, "up" conformations of the loops correlate with the open state. The main part of ClpP, the barrel formed by 14 copies of residues 18-193, is essentially unchanged by the interaction with ClpA. Using difference mapping, we localized the binding site for ClpA to a peripheral pocket between adjacent ClpP subunits. Based on these observations, we propose that access to the ClpP degradation chamber is controlled allosterically by hinged movements of its N-terminal loops, which the symmetry-mismatched binding of ClpA suffices to induce.
Project description:The recycling of SNARE proteins following complex formation and membrane fusion is an essential process in eukaryotic trafficking. A highly conserved AAA+ protein, NSF (N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor) and an adaptor protein, SNAP (soluble NSF attachment protein), disassemble the SNARE complex. We report electron-cryomicroscopy structures of the complex of NSF, ?SNAP, and the full-length soluble neuronal SNARE complex (composed of syntaxin-1A, synaptobrevin-2, SNAP-25A) in the presence of ATP under non-hydrolyzing conditions at ~3.9 Å resolution. These structures reveal electrostatic interactions by which two ?SNAP molecules interface with a specific surface of the SNARE complex. This interaction positions the SNAREs such that the 15 N-terminal residues of SNAP-25A are loaded into the D1 ring pore of NSF via a spiral pattern of interactions between a conserved tyrosine NSF residue and SNAP-25A backbone atoms. This loading process likely precedes ATP hydrolysis. Subsequent ATP hydrolysis then drives complete disassembly.
Project description:There is rapidly mounting evidence that intracellular proteases in bacteria are compelling targets for antibacterial drugs. Multiple reports suggest that the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other actinobacteria may be particularly sensitive to small molecules that perturb the activities of self-compartmentalized peptidases, which catalyze intracellular protein turnover as components of ATP-dependent proteolytic machines. Here, we report chemical syntheses and evaluations of structurally diverse ?-lactones, which have a privileged structure for selective, suicide inhibition of the self-compartmentalized ClpP peptidase. ?-Lactones with certain substituents on the ?- and ?-carbons were found to be toxic to M. tuberculosis. Using an affinity-labeled analogue of a bioactive ?-lactone in a series of chemical proteomic experiments, we selectively captured the ClpP1P2 peptidase from live cultures of two different actinobacteria that are related to M. tuberculosis. Importantly, we found that the growth inhibitory ?-lactones also inactivate the M. tuberculosis ClpP1P2 peptidase in vitro via formation of a covalent adduct at the ClpP2 catalytic serine. Given the potent antibacterial activity of these compounds and their medicinal potential, we sought to identify innate mechanisms of resistance. Using a genome mining strategy, we identified a genetic determinant of ?-lactone resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor, a non-pathogenic relative of M. tuberculosis. Collectively, these findings validate the potential of ClpP inhibition as a strategy in antibacterial drug development and define a mechanism by which bacteria could resist the toxic effects of ClpP inhibitors.
Project description:The intracellular degradation of many proteins is mediated in an ATP-dependent manner by large assemblies comprising a chaperone ring complex associated coaxially with a proteolytic cylinder, e.g., ClpAP, ClpXP, and HslUV in prokaryotes, and the 26S proteasome in eukaryotes. Recent studies of the chaperone ClpA indicate that it mediates ATP-dependent unfolding of substrate proteins and directs their ATP-dependent translocation into the ClpP protease. Because the axial passageway into the proteolytic chamber is narrow, it seems likely that unfolded substrate proteins are threaded from the chaperone into the protease, suggesting that translocation could be directional. We have investigated directionality in the ClpA/ClpP-mediated reaction by using two substrate proteins bearing the COOH-terminal ssrA recognition element, each labeled near the NH(2) or COOH terminus with fluorescent probes. Time-dependent changes in both fluorescence anisotropy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer between donor fluorophores in the ClpP cavity and the substrate probes as acceptors were measured to monitor translocation of the substrates from ClpA into ClpP. We observed for both substrates that energy transfer occurs 2--4 s sooner with the COOH-terminally labeled molecules than with the NH(2)-terminally labeled ones, indicating that translocation is indeed directional, with the COOH terminus of the substrate protein entering ClpP first.