Akio Toh-e

Dissection of the assembly pathway of the proteasome lid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The 26S proteasome is a highly conserved multisubunit protease that degrades ubiquitinated proteins in eukaryotic cells. It comprises a 20S core particle and two 19S regulatory particles that are further divided into the lid and base complexes. The lid is a nine subunits complex that is structurally related to the COP9 signalosome and the eukaryotic initiation factor 3. Although the assembly pathway of the 20S and the base are well described, that of the lid is still unclear. In this study, we dissected the lid assembly using yeast lid mutant cells, rpn7-3, Delta rpn9, and rpn12-1. Using mass spectrometry, we identified a number of lid subassemblies, such as Rpn3-Rpn7 pair and a lid-like complex lacking Rpn12, in the mutants. Our analysis suggests that the assembly of the lid is a highly ordered and multi-step process; first, Rpn5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are assembled to form a core module, then a second module, consisting of Rpn3, 7, and Sem1, is attached, followed by the incorporation of Rpn12 to form the lid complex.

Identification of genes involved in the phosphate metabolism in Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic basidiomycetous yeast that can cause life-threatening meningoencephalitis in immuno-compromized patients. To propagate in the human body, this organism has to acquire phosphate that functions in cellular signaling pathways and is also an essential component of nucleic acids and phospholipids. Thus it is reasonable to assume that C. neoformans (Cn) possesses a phosphate regulatory system (PHO system) analogous to that of other fungi. By BLAST searches using the amino acid sequences of the components of the PHO system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc), we found potential counterparts to ScPHO genes in C. neoformans, namely, acid phosphatase (CnPHO2), the cyclin-dependent protein kinase (CDK) inhibitor (CnPHO81), Pho85-cyclin (CnPHO80), and CDK (CnPHO85). Disruption of each candidate gene, except CnPHO85, followed by phenotypic analysis, identified most of the basic components of the CnPHO system. We found that CnPHO85 was essential for the growth of C. neoformans, having regulatory function in the CnPHO system. Genetic screening and ChIP analysis, showed that CnPHO4 encodes a transcription factor that binds to the CnPHO genes in a Pi-dependent manner. By RNA-seq analysis of the wild-type and the regulatory mutants of the CnPHO system, we found C. neoformans genes whose expression is controlled by the regulators of the CnPHO system. Thus the CnPHO system shares many properties with the ScPHO system, but expression of those CnPHO genes that encode regulators is controlled by phosphate starvation, which is not the case in the ScPHO system (except ScPHO81). We also could identify some genes involved in the stress response of the pathogenic yeast, but CnPho4 appeared to be responsible only for phosphate starvation.

Pho85 Kinase, a Cyclin-Dependent Kinase, Regulates Nuclear Accumulation of the Rim101 Transcription Factor in the Stress Response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae alters its gene expression profile in response to changing environmental conditions. The Pho85 kinase, one of the yeast cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK), is known to play an important role in the cellular response to alterations in parameters such as nutrient levels and salinity. Several genes whose expression is regulated, either directly or indirectly, by the Rim101 transcription factor become constitutively activated when Pho85 function is absent,. Because Rim101 is responsible for adaptation to alkaline conditions, this observation suggests an interaction between Pho85 and Rim101 in the response to alkaline stress. We have found that Pho85 affects neither RIM101 transcription, the proteolytic processing that is required for Rim101 activation, nor Rim101 stability. Rather, Pho85 regulates the nuclear accumulation of active Rim101, possibly via phosphorylation. Additionally, we report that Pho85 and the transcription factor Pho4 are necessary for adaptation to alkaline conditions and that PTK2 activation by Pho4 is involved in this process. These findings illustrate novel roles for the regulators of the PHO system when yeast cells cope with various environmental stresses potentially threatening their survival.

Functional characterization of PMT2, encoding a protein-O-mannosyltransferase, in the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

Diazobenzoic acid B (DBB), also known as diazonium blue B or fast blue B, can be used to distinguish basidiomycetous yeasts from ascomycetes. This chemical has long been used for the taxonomic study of yeast species at the phylum level, but the mechanism underlying the DBB staining remains unknown. To identify molecular targets of DBB staining, we isolated Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated insertional mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans, a basidiomycetous pathogenic yeast, which were negative to DBB staining. In one of these mutants, we found that the PMT2 gene, encoding a protein-O-mannosyltransferase, was interrupted by a T-DNA insertion. A complete gene knockout of the PMT2 gene revealed that the gene was responsible for DBB staining in C. neoformans, suggesting that one of the targets of Pmt2-mediated glycosylation is responsible for interacting with DBB. We also determined that Cryptococcus gattii, a close relative of C. neoformans, was not stained by DBB when the PMT2 gene was deleted. Our finding suggests that the protein-O-mannosylation by the PMT2 gene product is required for DBB staining in Cryptococcus species in general. We also showed that glycosylation in Cryptococcus by Pmt2 plays important roles in controlling cell size, resistance to high temperature and osmolarity, capsule formation, sexual reproduction, and virulence.

Heterologous expression of a gene of Magnaporthe oryzae chrysovirus 1 strain A disrupts growth of the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans.

Magnaporthe oryzae chrysovirus 1 strain A (MoCV1‐A) is the causal agent of growth repression and attenuated virulence (hypovirulence) of the rice blast fungus, M. oryzae. We have previously reported that heterologous expression of MoCV1‐A ORF4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in growth defects, a large central vacuole and other cytological changes. In this study, the effects of open reading frame (ORF) 4 expression in Cryptococcus neoformans, a human pathogenic fungus responsible for severe opportunistic infection, were investigated. Cells expressing the ORF4 gene in C. neoformans showed remarkably enlarged vacuoles, nuclear diffusion and a reduced growth rate. In addition, expression of ORF4 apparently suppressed formation of the capsule that surrounds the entire cell wall, which is one of the most important components of expression of virulence. After 5‐fluoroorotic acid treatment of ORF4‐expressing cells to remove the plasmid carrying the ORF4 gene, the resultant plasmid‐free cells recovered normal morphology and growth, indicating that heterologous expression of the MoCV1‐A ORF4 gene induces negative effects in C. neoformans. These data suggest that the ORF4 product is a candidate for a pharmaceutical protein to control disease caused by C. neoformans.

Structural analysis of compounds with actions similar to local anesthetics and antipsychotic phenothiazines in yeast

Local anesthetics and antipsychotic phenothiazines cause a rapid shutdown of both actin polarization and translation initiation in yeast cells, like some environmental stresses. These compounds all have an amphiphilic structure, surfactant activity and the ability to lyse yeast cells. To elucidate the structures responsible for the shutdown activity and cell lysis, we investigated a variety of amphiphiles. In the hydrophobic region, the straight alkyl structure was sufficient for the shutdown of actin polarization and translational initiation. In the hydrophilic region of the straight alkyl compounds, cationic trimethyl ammonium (TMA) and non‐ionic hydroxyl structure (alcohols) shut down both reactions, while an anionic structure, sulphate, with a long alkyl chain (≥C6) shut down actin polarization only. On the compounds that shut down both reactions, including the clinical drugs, TMA compounds and alcohols, the potencies of shutdown and lysis exponentially increased with increasing the number of carbons in the hydrophobic region, whereas safety was affected by the structures of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. These results indicate that the yeast system can easily evaluate clinical drugs, and provide a structural basis for designing compounds to shut down intracellular reactions. Copyright

Positional cloning in Cryptococcus neoformans and its application for identification and cloning of the gene encoding methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase

Cryptococcus neoformans, a basidiomycetous human pathogenic yeast, has been widely used in research fields in medical mycology as well as basic biology. Gene cloning or identification of the gene responsible for a mutation of interest is a key step for functional analysis of a particular gene. The availability therefore, of the multiple methods for cloning is desirable. In this study, we proposed a method for a mapping-based gene identification/cloning (positional cloning) method in C. neoformans. To this end, we constructed a series of tester strains, one of whose chromosomes was labeled with the URA5 gene. A heterozygous diploid constructed by crossing one of the tester strains to a mutant strain of interest loses a chromosome(s) spontaneously, which is the basis for assigning a recessive mutant gene to a particular chromosome in the mitotic mapping method. Once the gene of interest is mapped to one of the 14 chromosomes, classical genetic crosses can then be performed to determine its more precise location. The positional information thus obtained can then be used to significantly narrow down candidate genes by referring to the Cryptococcus genome database. Each candidate gene is then examined whether it would complement the mutation. We successfully applied this method to identify CNA07390 encoding methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase as the gene responsible for a methionine-requiring mutant in our mutant collection.

Tetracaine, a local anesthetic, preferentially induces translational inhibition with processing body formation rather than phosphorylation of eIF2α in yeast

It is unclear whether local anesthetics, such as tetracaine, and antipsychotics, such as phenothiazines, act on lipids or proteins. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, these drugs inhibit growth, translation initiation, and actin polarization, and induce cell lysis at high concentrations. These activities are likely due to the cationic amphiphilic structure common to these agents. Although drug-induced translational inhibition is conserved in mammalian cells, other mechanisms, including the phosphorylation of eIF2α, a eukaryotic translational initiation factor, remain poorly understood. At a concentration of 10xa0mM, tetracaine rapidly inhibited translation initiation and lysed cells, whereas, at 2.5xa0mM, it slowly induced inhibition without lysis. The pat1 disruptant defective in mRNA decapping and the xrn1 disruptant defective in 5′–3′ exoribonuclease were partially resistant to translational inhibition by tetracaine at each concentration, but the gcn2 disruptant defective in the eIF2α kinase was not. Phosphorylation of eIF2α was induced by 10xa0mM but not by 2.5xa0mM tetracaine, whereas processing bodies (P-bodies) were formed at 2.5xa0mM in Pat1-dependent and -independent manners. Therefore, administration of tetracaine inhibits translation initiation with P-body formation at both concentrations but acts via the Gcn2-eIF2α system only at the higher concentration. Because other local anesthetics and phenothiazines induced Pat1-dependent P-body formation, the mechanisms involved in translational inhibition by these cationic amphiphiles are similar. These results suggest that this dose-dependent biphasic translational inhibition by tetracaine results from an increase in membrane proteins that are indirectly inhibited by nonspecific interactions of cationic amphiphiles with membrane lipids.

Local Anesthetics and Antipsychotic Phenothiazines Interact Nonspecifically with Membranes and Inhibit Hexose Transporters in Yeast

Action mechanisms of anesthetics remain unclear because of difficulty in explaining how structurally different anesthetics cause similar effects. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, local anesthetics and antipsychotic phenothiazines induced responses similar to those caused by glucose starvation, and they eventually inhibited cell growth. These drugs inhibited glucose uptake, but additional glucose conferred resistance to their effects; hence, the primary action of the drugs is to cause glucose starvation. In hxt0 strains with all hexose transporter (HXT) genes deleted, a strain harboring a single copy of HXT1 (HXT1s) was more sensitive to tetracaine than a strain harboring multiple copies (HXT1m), which indicates that quantitative reduction of HXT1 increases tetracaine sensitivity. However, additional glucose rather than the overexpression of HXT1/2 conferred tetracaine resistance to wild-type yeast; therefore, Hxts that actively transport hexoses apparently confer tetracaine resistance. Additional glucose alleviated sensitivity to local anesthetics and phenothiazines in the HXT1m strain but not the HXT1s strain; thus, the glucose-induced effects required a certain amount of Hxt1. At low concentrations, fluorescent phenothiazines were distributed in various membranes. At higher concentrations, they destroyed the membranes and thereby delocalized Hxt1-GFP from the plasma membrane, similar to local anesthetics. These results suggest that the aforementioned drugs affect various membrane targets via nonspecific interactions with membranes. However, the drugs preferentially inhibit the function of abundant Hxts, resulting in glucose starvation. When Hxts are scarce, this preference is lost, thereby mitigating the alleviation by additional glucose. These results provide a mechanism that explains how different compounds induce similar effects based on lipid theory.

Novel biosynthetic pathway for sulfur amino acids in Cryptococcus neoformans

We elucidated a unique feature of sulfur metabolism in Cryptococcus neoformans. C. neoformans produces cysteine solely by the O-acetylserine pathway that consists of serine-O-acetyl transferase and cysteine synthase. We designated the gene encoding the former enzyme CYS2 (locus tag CNE02740) and the latter enzyme CYS1 (locus tag CNL05880). The cys1Δmutant strain was found to be avirulent in a murine infection model. Methionine practically does not support growth of the cys1Δ strain, and cysteine does not serve as a methionine source, indicating that the transsulfuration pathway does not contribute to sulfur amino acid synthesis in C. neoformans. Among the genes encoding enzymes catalyzing the reactions from homoserine to methionine, the gene corresponding to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MET17 encoding O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase (Met17p) had remained to be identified in C. neoformans. By genetic analysis of Met− mutants obtained by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated mutagenesis, we concluded that Cnc01220, most similar to Str2p (36% identity), cystathionine-γ-synthase, in the Saccharomyces genome, is the C. neoformans version of O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase. We designated CNC01220 as MET17. The C. neoformans met3Δ mutant defective in the first step of the sulfate assimilation pathway, sulfate adenylyltransferase, barely uses methionine as a sulfur source, whereas it uses cysteine efficiently. The poor utilization of methionine by the met3Δ mutant is most probably due to the absence of the transsulfuration pathway, causing an incapability of C. neoformans to produce cysteine and hydrogen sulfide from methionine. When cysteine is used as a sulfur source, methionine is likely produced de novo by using hydrogen sulfide derived from cysteine via an unidentified pathway. Altogether, the unique features of sulfur amino acid metabolism in C. neoformans will make this fungus a valuable experimental system to develop anti-fungal agents and to investigate physiology of hydrogen sulfide.