scholarly journals Proximity Labeling To Map Host-Pathogen Interactions at the Membrane of a Bacterium-Containing Vacuole in Chlamydia trachomatis-Infected Human Cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Macy G. Olson ◽  
Ray E. Widner ◽  
Lisa M. Jorgenson ◽  
Alyssa Lawrence ◽  
Dragana Lagundzin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Many intracellular bacteria, including the obligate intracellular pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, grow within a membrane-bound bacterium-containing vacuole (BCV). Secreted cytosolic effectors modulate host activity, but an understanding of the host-pathogen interactions that occur at the BCV membrane is limited by the difficulty in purifying membrane fractions from infected host cells. We used the ascorbate peroxidase (APEX2) proximity labeling system, which labels proximal proteins with biotin in vivo, to study the protein-protein interactions that occur at the chlamydial vacuolar, or inclusion, membrane. An in vivo understanding of the secreted chlamydial inclusion membrane protein (Inc) interactions (e.g., Inc-Inc and Inc-eukaryotic protein) and how these contribute to overall host-chlamydia interactions at this unique membrane is lacking. We hypothesize some Incs organize the inclusion membrane, whereas other Incs bind eukaryotic proteins to promote chlamydia-host interactions. To study this, Incs fused to APEX2 were expressed in C. trachomatis L2. Affinity purification-mass spectrometry (AP-MS) identified biotinylated proteins, which were analyzed for statistical significance using significance analysis of the interactome (SAINT). Broadly supporting both Inc-Inc and Inc-host interactions, our Inc-APEX2 constructs labeled Incs as well as known and previously unreported eukaryotic proteins localizing to the inclusion. We demonstrate, using bacterial two-hybrid and coimmunoprecipitation assays, that endogenous LRRFIP1 (LRRF1) is recruited to the inclusion by the Inc CT226. We further demonstrate interactions between CT226 and the Incs used in our study to reveal a model for inclusion membrane organization. Combined, our data highlight the utility of APEX2 to capture the complex in vivo protein-protein interactions at the chlamydial inclusion.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Macy G. Olson ◽  
Ray E. Widner ◽  
Lisa M. Jorgenson ◽  
Alyssa Lawrence ◽  
Dragana Lagundzin ◽  
...  

AbstractAs an obligate intracellular pathogenic bacterium,C. trachomatisdevelops within a membrane-bound vacuole, termed the inclusion. The inclusion membrane is modified by chlamydial inclusion membrane proteins (Incs), which act as the mediators of host-pathogen interactions. Anin vivounderstanding of Inc-Inc and Inc-eukaryotic protein interactions and how these contribute to overall host-chlamydial interactions at this unique membrane is lacking. Previous bacterial two-hybrid studies established that certain Incs have the propensity to bind other Incs while others have limited Inc-Inc interactions. We hypothesize some Incs organize the inclusion membrane whereas other Incs bind eukaryotic proteins to promote chlamydial-host interactions. To test this hypothesis, we used the ascorbate peroxidase proximity labeling system (APEX2), which labels proximal proteins with biotinin vivo, and chose to analyze Inc proteins with varying Inc-binding propensities. We inducibly expressed these Incs fused to APEX2 inChlamydia trachomatisL2, verified their localization and labeling activities by transmission electron microscopy, and used affinity purification-mass spectrometry to identify biotinylated proteins. To analyze our mass spectrometry results for statistical significance, we used Significance Analysis of INTeractome (SAINT), which demonstrated that our Inc-APEX2 constructs labeled Inc proteins as well as known and previously unreported eukaryotic proteins that localize to the inclusion. Our results broadly support two types of Inc interactions: Inc-Inc versus Inc-host. One eukaryotic protein, LRRFIP1 (LRRF1) was found in all of our Inc-APEX2 datasets, which is consistent with previously published AP-MS datasets. For the first time, we demonstrate by confocal and super-resolution microscopy that endogenous LRRF1 localizes to the chlamydial inclusion. We also used bacterial two-hybrid studies and pulldown assays to determine if LRRF1 was identified as a true interacting protein or was proximal to our Inc-APEX2 constructs. Combined, our data highlight the utility of APEX2 to capture the complexin vivoprotein-protein interactions at the chlamydial inclusion.Author summaryMany intracellular bacteria, including the obligate intracellular pathogenChlamydia trachomatis, grow within a membrane-bound “bacteria containing vacuole” (BCV) that, in most cases, prevents association with the lysosome. Secreted cytosolic effectors modulate host activity, but an understanding of the host-pathogen interactions that occur at the BCV membrane is limited by the difficulty in purifying membrane fractions from infected host cells. Here, we used the ascorbate peroxidase proximity labeling system (APEX2), which labels proximal proteins with biotinin vivo, to study the interactions that occur at the chlamydial vacuolar, or inclusion, membrane. The inclusion membrane is modified by chlamydial type III secreted inclusion membrane proteins (Incs), which act as the mediators of host-pathogen interactions. Our results broadly support two types of Inc interactions: Inc-Inc versus Inc-host. Our data highlight the utility of APEX2 to capture the complex protein-protein interactions at a membrane sitein vivoin the context of infection.


Author(s):  
Natalia Sanchez de Groot ◽  
Marc Torrent Burgas

ABSTRACTBacteria use protein-protein interactions to infect their hosts and hijack fundamental pathways, which ensures their survival and proliferation. Hence, the infectious capacity of the pathogen is closely related to its ability to interact with host proteins. Here, we show that hubs in the host-pathogen interactome are isolated in the pathogen network by adapting the geometry of the interacting interfaces. An imperfect mimicry of the eukaryotic interfaces allows pathogen proteins to actively bind to the host’s target while preventing deleterious effects on the pathogen interactome. Understanding how bacteria recognize eukaryotic proteins may pave the way for the rational design of new antibiotic molecules.


mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shumin Tan

ABSTRACT Shumin Tan works in the field of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-host interactions. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the paper “Single-cell phenotyping within transparent intact tissue through whole-body clearing” by B. Yang et al. (Cell 158:945–958, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.017) impacted her ideas on approaches to visualize and understand heterogeneous host-pathogen interactions in vivo in 3-dimensional space at the single-cell level, through the tractable and broadly compatible tissue optical clearing methods developed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e1008395
Author(s):  
Natalia Sanchez de Groot ◽  
Marc Torrent Burgas

Bacteria use protein-protein interactions to infect their hosts and hijack fundamental pathways, which ensures their survival and proliferation. Hence, the infectious capacity of the pathogen is closely related to its ability to interact with host proteins. Here, we show that hubs in the host-pathogen interactome are isolated in the pathogen network by adapting the geometry of the interacting interfaces. An imperfect mimicry of the eukaryotic interfaces allows pathogen proteins to actively bind to the host’s target while preventing deleterious effects on the pathogen interactome. Understanding how bacteria recognize eukaryotic proteins may pave the way for the rational design of new antibiotic molecules.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naraporn Somboonna ◽  
Noa Ziklo ◽  
Thomas E. Ferrin ◽  
Jung Hyuk Suh ◽  
Deborah Dean

ABSTRACT Clinical persistence of Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a major public health concern. In vitro persistence is known to develop through interferon gamma (IFN-γ) induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which catabolizes tryptophan, an essential amino acid for Ct replication. The organism can recover from persistence by synthesizing tryptophan from indole, a substrate for the enzyme tryptophan synthase. The majority of Ct strains, except for reference strain B/TW-5/OT, contain an operon comprised of α and β subunits that encode TrpA and TrpB, respectively, and form a functional αββα tetramer. However, trpA mutations in ocular Ct strains, which are responsible for the blinding eye disease known as trachoma, abrogate tryptophan synthesis from indole. We examined serial urogenital samples from a woman who had recurrent Ct infections over 4 years despite antibiotic treatment. The Ct isolates from each infection episode were genome sequenced and analyzed for phenotypic, structural, and functional characteristics. All isolates contained identical mutations in trpA and developed aberrant bodies within intracellular inclusions, visualized by transmission electron microscopy, even when supplemented with indole following IFN-γ treatment. Each isolate displayed an altered αββα structure, could not synthesize tryptophan from indole, and had significantly lower trpBA expression but higher intracellular tryptophan levels compared with those of reference Ct strain F/IC-Cal3. Our data indicate that emergent mutations in the tryptophan operon, which were previously thought to be restricted only to ocular Ct strains, likely resulted in in vivo persistence in the described patient and represents a novel host-pathogen adaptive strategy for survival. IMPORTANCE Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most common sexually transmitted bacterium with more than 131 million cases occurring annually worldwide. Ct infections are often asymptomatic, persisting for many years despite treatment. In vitro recovery from persistence occurs when indole is utilized by the organism’s tryptophan synthase to synthesize tryptophan, an essential amino acid for replication. Ocular but not urogenital Ct strains contain mutations in the synthase that abrogate tryptophan synthesis. Here, we discovered that the genomes of serial isolates from a woman with recurrent, treated Ct STIs over many years were identical with a novel synthase mutation. This likely allowed long-term in vivo persistence where active infection resumed only when tryptophan became available. Our findings indicate an emerging adaptive host-pathogen evolutionary strategy for survival in the urogenital tract that will prompt the field to further explore chlamydial persistence, evaluate the genetics of mutant Ct strains and fitness within the host, and their implications for disease pathogenesis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Frederich ◽  
Ananya Sengupta ◽  
Josue Liriano ◽  
Ewa A. Bienkiewicz ◽  
Brian G. Miller

Fusicoccin A (FC) is a fungal phytotoxin that stabilizes protein–protein interactions (PPIs) between 14-3-3 adapter proteins and their phosphoprotein interaction partners. In recent years, FC has emerged as an important chemical probe of human 14-3-3 PPIs implicated in cancer and neurological diseases. These previous studies have established the structural requirements for FC-induced stabilization of 14-3-3·client phosphoprotein complexes; however, the effect of different 14-3-3 isoforms on FC activity has not been systematically explored. This is a relevant question for the continued development of FC variants because there are seven distinct isoforms of 14-3-3 in humans. Despite their remarkable sequence and structural similarities, a growing body of experimental evidence supports both tissue-specific expression of 14-3-3 isoforms and isoform-specific functions <i>in vivo</i>. Herein, we report the isoform-specificity profile of FC <i>in vitro</i>using recombinant human 14-3-3 isoforms and a focused library of fluorescein-labeled hexaphosphopeptides mimicking the C-terminal 14-3-3 recognition domains of client phosphoproteins targeted by FC in cell culture. Our results reveal modest isoform preferences for individual client phospholigands and demonstrate that FC differentially stabilizes PPIs involving 14-3-3s. Together, these data provide strong motivation for the development of non-natural FC variants with enhanced selectivity for individual 14-3-3 isoforms.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Tina Schönberger ◽  
Joachim Fandrey ◽  
Katrin Prost-Fingerle

Hypoxia is a key characteristic of tumor tissue. Cancer cells adapt to low oxygen by activating hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), ensuring their survival and continued growth despite this hostile environment. Therefore, the inhibition of HIFs and their target genes is a promising and emerging field of cancer research. Several drug candidates target protein–protein interactions or transcription mechanisms of the HIF pathway in order to interfere with activation of this pathway, which is deregulated in a wide range of solid and liquid cancers. Although some inhibitors are already in clinical trials, open questions remain with respect to their modes of action. New imaging technologies using luminescent and fluorescent methods or nanobodies to complement widely used approaches such as chromatin immunoprecipitation may help to answer some of these questions. In this review, we aim to summarize current inhibitor classes targeting the HIF pathway and to provide an overview of in vitro and in vivo techniques that could improve the understanding of inhibitor mechanisms. Unravelling the distinct principles regarding how inhibitors work is an indispensable step for efficient clinical applications and safety of anticancer compounds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne Vermeire ◽  
Liara M. Gonzalez ◽  
Robert J. J. Jansens ◽  
Eric Cox ◽  
Bert Devriendt

AbstractSmall intestinal organoids, or enteroids, represent a valuable model to study host–pathogen interactions at the intestinal epithelial surface. Much research has been done on murine and human enteroids, however only a handful studies evaluated the development of enteroids in other species. Porcine enteroid cultures have been described, but little is known about their functional responses to specific pathogens or their associated virulence factors. Here, we report that porcine enteroids respond in a similar manner as in vivo gut tissues to enterotoxins derived from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, an enteric pathogen causing postweaning diarrhoea in piglets. Upon enterotoxin stimulation, these enteroids not only display a dysregulated electrolyte and water balance as shown by their swelling, but also secrete inflammation markers. Porcine enteroids grown as a 2D-monolayer supported the adhesion of an F4+ ETEC strain. Hence, these enteroids closely mimic in vivo intestinal epithelial responses to gut pathogens and are a promising model to study host–pathogen interactions in the pig gut. Insights obtained with this model might accelerate the design of veterinary therapeutics aimed at improving gut health.


Author(s):  
Liqing Jia ◽  
Xiaolu Ge ◽  
Chao Du ◽  
Linna Chen ◽  
Yanhong Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Eukaryotic protein translation elongation factor 1α2 (EEF1A2) is an oncogene that promotes the progression of breast and pancreatic cancer. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the oncogenic function of EEF1A2 in the metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to study EEF1A2 expression levels in LUAD tissues and cells, respectively. The role of EEF1A2 in LUAD progression were investigated in vitro and in vivo. We identified potential EEF1A2-binding proteins by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS. Protein–protein interactions were determined by immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results In this study, we report that EEF1A2 mediates the epithelial–mesenchymal transformation (EMT), to promote the metastasis of LUAD cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, EEF1A2 interacts with HSP90AB1 to increase TGFβ Receptor (TβR)-I, and TβRII expression, followed by enhanced SMAD3 and pSMAD3 expression and nuclear localisation, which promotes the EMT of LUAD cells. Overexpression of EEF1A2 in cancer tissues is associated with poor prognosis and short survival of patients with LUAD. Conclusions These findings underscore the molecular functions of EEF1A2 in LUAD metastasis and indicate that EEF1A2 represents a promising target in the treatment of aggressive LUAD.


2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. nrs.04021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen L. Koterba ◽  
Brian G. Rowan

Bioluminescent resonance energy transfer (BRET2) is a recently developed technology for the measurement of protein-protein interactions in a live, cell-based system. BRET2 is characterized by the efficient transfer of excited energy between a bioluminescent donor molecule (Renilla luciferase) and a fluorescent acceptor molecule (a mutant of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP2)). The BRET2 assay offers advantages over fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) because it does not require an external light source thereby eliminating problems of photobleaching and autoflourescence. The absence of contamination by light results in low background that permits detection of very small changes in the BRET2 signal. BRET2 is dependent on the orientation and distance between two fusion proteins and therefore requires extensive preliminary standardization experiments to conclude a positive BRET2 signal independent of variations in protein titrations and arrangement in tertiary structures. Estrogen receptor (ER) signaling is modulated by steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1). To establish BRET2 in a ligand inducible system we used SRC-1 as the donor moiety and ER as the acceptor moiety. Expression and functionality of the fusion proteins were assessed by transient transfection in HEK-293 cells followed by Western blot analysis and measurement of ER-dependent reporter gene activity. These preliminary determinations are required prior to measuring nuclear receptor protein-protein interactions by BRET2. This article describes in detail the BRET2 methodology for measuring interaction between full-length ER and coregulator proteins in real-time, in an in vivo environment.


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