Konstantinos Beis

Wza the translocon for E. coli capsular polysaccharides defines a new class of membrane protein

Many types of bacteria produce extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs). Some are secreted polymers and show only limited association with the cell surface, whereas others are firmly attached to the cell surface and form a discrete structural layer, the capsule, which envelopes the cell and allows the bacteria to evade or counteract the host immune system. EPSs have critical roles in bacterial colonization of surfaces, such as epithelia and medical implants; in addition some EPSs have important industrial and biomedical applications in their own right. Here we describe the 2.26 Å resolution structure of the 340 kDa octamer of Wza, an integral outer membrane lipoprotein, which is essential for group 1 capsule export in Escherichia coli. The transmembrane region is a novel α-helical barrel. The bulk of the Wza structure is located in the periplasm and comprises three novel domains forming a large central cavity. Wza is open to the extracellular environment but closed to the periplasm. We propose a route and mechanism for translocation of the capsular polysaccharide. This work may provide insight into the export of other large polar molecules such as DNA and proteins.

Overcoming the challenges of membrane protein crystallography.

Membrane protein structural biology is still a largely unconquered area, given that approximately 25% of all proteins are membrane proteins and yet less than 150 unique structures are available. Membrane proteins have proven to be difficult to study owing to their partially hydrophobic surfaces, flexibility and lack of stability. The field is now taking advantage of the high-throughput revolution in structural biology and methods are emerging for effective expression, solubilisation, purification and crystallisation of membrane proteins. These technical advances will lead to a rapid increase in the rate at which membrane protein structures are solved in the near future.

The 3D structure of a periplasm-spanning platform required for assembly of group 1 capsular polysaccharides in Escherichia coli

Capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) are essential virulence determinants of many pathogenic bacteria. Escherichia coli group 1 CPSs provide paradigms for widespread surface polysaccharide assembly systems in Gram-negative bacteria. In these systems, complex carbohydrate polymers must be exported across the periplasm and outer membrane to the cell surface. Group 1 CPS export requires oligomers of the outer membrane protein, Wza, for translocation across the outer membrane. Assembly also depends on Wzc, an inner membrane tyrosine autokinase known to regulate export and synthesis of group 1 CPS. Here, we provide a structural view of a complex comprising Wzc and Wza that spans the periplasm, connecting the inner and outer membranes. Examination of transmembrane sections of the complex suggests that the periplasm is compressed at the site of complex formation. An important feature of CPS production is the coupling of steps involved in biosynthesis and export. We propose that the Wza–Wzc complex provides the structural and regulatory core of a larger macromolecular machine. We suggest a mechanism by which CPS may move from the periplasm through the outer membrane.

Benchmarking Membrane Protein Detergent Stability for Improving Throughput of High-Resolution X-ray Structures

Summary Obtaining well-ordered crystals is a major hurdle to X-ray structure determination of membrane proteins. To facilitate crystal optimization, we investigated the detergent stability of 24 eukaryotic and prokaryotic membrane proteins, predominantly transporters, using a fluorescent-based unfolding assay. We have benchmarked the stability required for crystallization in small micelle detergents, as they are statistically more likely to lead to high-resolution structures. Using this information, we have been able to obtain well-diffracting crystals for a number of sodium and proton-dependent transporters. By including in the analysis seven membrane proteins for which structures are already known, AmtB, GlpG, Mhp1, GlpT, EmrD, NhaA, and LacY, it was further possible to demonstrate an overall trend between protein stability and structural resolution. We suggest that by monitoring membrane protein stability with reference to the benchmarks described here, greater efforts can be placed on constructs and conditions more likely to yield high-resolution structures.

Structure of an antibacterial peptide ATP-binding cassette transporter in a novel outward occluded state

Significance ATP-binding cassette (ABC) exporters transport substrates by an alternating access mechanism that is driven by ATP binding and hydrolysis. The general mechanism is a motion from an inward to an outward state, with a different intertwining of the half-transporters in both states. In this study we determined the function and crystal structure of the ABC exporter McjD that exports the antibacterial peptide microcin J25. Our structure represents a novel nucleotide-bound, outward-occluded state. It does not possess subunit intertwining and shows a well-defined binding cavity that is closed to all sides, consistent with it being an intermediate between the inward- and outward-facing state. Our structure provides valuable insights in a transition state of an ABC exporter. Enterobacteriaceae produce antimicrobial peptides for survival under nutrient starvation. Microcin J25 (MccJ25) is an antimicrobial peptide with a unique lasso topology. It is secreted by the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) exporter McjD, which ensures self-immunity of the producing strain through efficient export of the toxic mature peptide from the cell. Here we have determined the crystal structure of McjD from Escherichia coli at 2.7-Å resolution, which is to the authors’ knowledge the first structure of an antibacterial peptide ABC transporter. Our functional and biochemical analyses demonstrate McjD-dependent immunity to MccJ25 through efflux of the peptide. McjD can directly bind MccJ25 and displays a basal ATPase activity that is stimulated by MccJ25 in both detergent solution and proteoliposomes. McjD adopts a new conformation, termed nucleotide-bound outward occluded. The new conformation defines a clear cavity; mutagenesis and ligand binding studies of the cavity have identified Phe86, Asn134, and Asn302 as important for recognition of MccJ25. Comparisons with the inward-open MsbA and outward-open Sav1866 structures show that McjD has structural similarities with both states without the intertwining of transmembrane (TM) helices. The occluded state is formed by rotation of TMs 1 and 2 toward the equivalent TMs of the opposite monomer, unlike Sav1866 where they intertwine with TMs 3–6 of the opposite monomer. Cysteine cross-linking studies on the McjD dimer in inside-out membrane vesicles of E. coli confirmed the presence of the occluded state. We therefore propose that the outward-occluded state represents a transition intermediate between the outward-open and inward-open conformation of ABC exporters.

Periplasmic Protein-Protein Contacts in the Inner Membrane Protein Wzc Form a Tetrameric Complex Required for the Assembly of Escherichia coli Group 1 Capsules

The K antigenic capsular polysaccharide forms a structural layer, the capsule, on the surfaces of Escherichia coli cells. The capsule provides an important protective covering that helps protect encapsulated bacteria from host immune defenses. The assembly and translocation of the capsule requires proteins in the inner and outer membranes. The inner membrane protein Wzc is a tyrosine autokinase that plays an essential role in what is believed to be a coordinated biosynthesis and secretion process. Mutants lacking Wzc can form K antigen oligosaccharides but are unable to polymerize high molecular weight capsular polymers. Wzc homologs have been identified in exopolymer biosynthesis systems in many different Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. Using single particle averaging on cryo-negatively stained samples, we have produced the first three-dimensional structure of this type of membrane protein in its phosphorylated state at ∼14 Å resolution. Perfluoro-octanoate-PAGE analysis of detergent-solubilized oligomeric Wzc and symmetry analysis of the transmission electron microscopy data clearly demonstrated that Wzc forms a tetrameric complex with C4 rotational symmetry. Viewed from the top of the complex, the oligomer is square with a diameter of ∼100 Å and can be divided into four separate densities. From the side, Wzc is ∼110 Å high and has a distinctive appearance similar to an extracted molar tooth. The upper “crown” region is ∼55 Å high and forms a continuous ring of density. Four unconnected “roots” (∼65 Å high) emerge from the underside of the crown. We propose that the crown is formed by protein-protein contacts from the four Wzc periplasmic domains, while each root represents an individual cytoplasmic tyrosine autokinase domain.

Altered Antibiotic Transport in Ompc Mutants Isolated from a Series of Clinical Strains of Multi-Drug Resistant E. Coli.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, particularly Gram negative species, present significant health care challenges. The permeation of antibiotics through the outer membrane is largely effected by the porin superfamily, changes in which contribute to antibiotic resistance. A series of antibiotic resistant E. coli isolates were obtained from a patient during serial treatment with various antibiotics. The sequence of OmpC changed at three positions during treatment giving rise to a total of four OmpC variants (denoted OmpC20, OmpC26, OmpC28 and OmpC33, in which OmpC20 was derived from the first clinical isolate). We demonstrate that expression of the OmpC K12 porin in the clinical isolates lowers the MIC, consistent with modified porin function contributing to drug resistance. By a range of assays we have established that the three mutations that occur between OmpC20 and OmpC33 modify transport of both small molecules and antibiotics across the outer membrane. This results in the modulation of resistance to antibiotics, particularly cefotaxime. Small ion unitary conductance measurements of the isolated porins do not show significant differences between isolates. Thus, resistance does not appear to arise from major changes in pore size. Crystal structures of all four OmpC clinical mutants and molecular dynamics simulations also show that the pore size is essentially unchanged. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that perturbation of the transverse electrostatic field at the constriction zone reduces cefotaxime passage through the pore, consistent with laboratory and clinical data. This subtle modification of the transverse electric field is a very different source of resistance than occlusion of the pore or wholesale destruction of the transverse field and points to a new mechanism by which porins may modulate antibiotic passage through the outer membrane.

Functional characterization of SbmA, a bacterial inner membrane transporter required for importing the antimicrobial peptide Bac7(1-35).

SbmA is an inner membrane protein of Gram-negative bacteria that is involved in the internalization of glycopeptides and prokaryotic and eukaryotic antimicrobial peptides, as well as of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers. The SbmA homolog BacA is required for the development of Sinorhizobium meliloti bacteroids within plant cells and favors chronic infections with Brucella abortus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. Here, we investigated functional features of SbmA/BacA using the proline-rich antimicrobial peptide Bac7(1-35) as a substrate. Circular dichroism and affinity chromatography studies were used to investigate the ability of SbmA to bind the peptide, and a whole-cell transport assay with fluorescently labeled peptide allowed the determination of transport kinetic parameters with a calculated Km value of 6.95 ± 0.89 μM peptide and a Vmax of 53.91 ± 3.17 nmol/min/mg SbmA. Use of a bacterial two-hybrid system coupled to SEC-MALLS (size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiangle laser light scattering) analyses established that SbmA is a homodimer in the membrane, and treatment of the cells with arsenate or ionophores indicated that the peptide transport mediated by SbmA is driven by the electrochemical gradient. Overall, these results shed light on the SbmA-mediated internalization of peptide substrates and suggest that the transport of an unknown substrate(s) represents the function of this protein.

The structure of the efflux pump AcrB in complex with bile acid.

Gastrointestinal bacteria, like Escherichia coli, must remove bile acid to survive in the gut. Bile acid removal in E. coli is thought to be mediated primarily by the multidrug efflux pump, AcrB. Here, we present the structure of E. coli AcrB in complex with deoxycholate at 3.85 Å resolution. All evidence suggests that bile acid is transported out of the cell via the periplasmic vestibule of the AcrAB-TolC complex.

Structural basis for hijacking siderophore receptors by antimicrobial lasso peptides

The lasso peptide microcin J25 is known to hijack the siderophore receptor FhuA for initiating internalization. Here, we provide the first structural evidence on the recognition mechanism and our biochemical data show that another closely related lasso peptide cannot interact with FhuA. Our work provides an explanation on the narrow activity spectrum of lasso peptides and opens the path to the development of new antibacterials.