Nada Slakeski

Major outer membrane proteins and proteolytic processing of RgpA and Kgp of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an anaerobic, asaccharolytic Gram-negative rod associated with chronic periodontitis. We have undertaken a proteomic study of the outer membrane of P. gingivalis strain W50 using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting. Proteins were identified by reference to the pre-release genomic sequence of P. gingivalis available from The Institute for Genomic Research. Out of 39 proteins identified, five were TonB-linked outer membrane receptors, ten others were putative integral outer membrane proteins and four were putative lipoproteins. Pyroglutamate was found to be the N-terminal residue of seven of the proteins, and was predicted to be the N-terminal residue of 13 additional proteins. The RgpA, Kgp and HagA polyproteins were identified as fully processed domains in outer membranes prepared in the presence of proteinase inhibitors. Several domains were found to be C-terminally truncated 16-57 residues upstream from the N-terminus of the following domain, at a residue penultimate to a lysine. This pattern of C-terminal processing was not detected in a W50 strain isogenic mutant lacking the lysine-specific proteinase Kgp. Construction of another W50 isogenic mutant lacking the arginine-specific proteinases indicated that RgpB and/or RgpA were also involved in domain processing. The C-terminal adhesin of RgpA, designated RgpA27, together with RgpB and two newly identified proteins designated P27 and P59 were found to migrate on two-dimensional gels as vertical streaks at a molecular mass 13-42 kDa higher than that calculated from their gene sequences. The electrophoretic behaviour of these proteins, together with their immunoreactivity with a monoclonal antibody that recognizes lipopolysaccharide, is consistent with a modification that could anchor the proteins to the outer membrane.

The RgpB C-Terminal Domain Has a Role in Attachment of RgpB to the Outer Membrane and Belongs to a Novel C-Terminal-Domain Family Found in Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis produces outer membrane-attached proteins that include the virulence-associated proteinases RgpA and RgpB (Arg-gingipains) and Kgp (Lys-gingipain). We analyzed the P. gingivalis outer membrane proteome and identified numerous proteins with C-terminal domains similar in sequence to those of RgpB, RgpA, and Kgp, indicating that these domains may have a common function. Using RgpB as a model to investigate the role of the C-terminal domain, we expressed RgpB as a full-length zymogen (recombinant RgpB [rRgpB]), with a catalytic Cys244Ala mutation [rRgpB(C244A)], or with the C-terminal 72 amino acids deleted (rRgpB435) in an Arg-gingipain P. gingivalis mutant (YH522AB) and an Arg- and Lys-gingipain mutant (YH522KAB). rRgpB was catalytically active and located predominantly attached to the outer membrane of both background strains. rRgpB(C244A) was inactive and outer membrane attached, with a typical attachment profile for both background strains according to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but in YH522KAB, the prodomain was not removed. Thus, in vivo, RgpB export and membrane attachment are independent of the proteolytic activity of RgpA, RgpB, or Kgp. However, for maturation involving proteolytic processing of RgpB, the proteolytic activity of RgpB, RgpA, or Kgp is required. The C-terminally-truncated rRgpB435 was not attached to the outer membrane and was located as largely inactive, discrete 71-kDa and 48-kDa isoforms in the culture supernatant and the periplasm. These results suggest that the C-terminal domain is essential for outer membrane attachment and may be involved in a coordinated process of export and attachment to the cell surface.

Role of RgpA, RgpB, and Kgp Proteinases in Virulence of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 in a Murine Lesion Model

ABSTRACT Extracellular Arg-x- and Lys-x-specific cysteine proteinases are considered important virulence factors and pathogenic markers forPorphyromonas gingivalis, a bacterium implicated as a major etiological agent of chronic periodontitis. Three genes.rgpA, rgpB, and kgp,encode an Arg-x-specific proteinase and adhesins (RgpA), an Arg-x-specific proteinase (RgpB), and a Lys-x-specific proteinase and adhesins (Kgp), respectively. The contribution to pathogenicity of each of the proteinase genes of P. gingivalis W50 was investigated in a murine lesion model using isogenic mutants lacking RgpA, RgpB, and Kgp. Whole-cell Arg-x-specific proteolytic activity of both the RgpA− and RgpB− isogenic mutants was significantly reduced (3- to 4-fold) relative to that of the wild-type W50. However, for the Kgp− isogenic mutant, whole-cell Arg-x activity was similar to that of the wild-type strain. Whole-cell Lys-x proteolytic activity of the RgpA− and RgpB− mutants was not significantly different from that of wild-type W50, whereas the Kgp− mutant was devoid of Lys-x whole-cell proteolytic activity. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis using proteinase-specific antibodies of cell sonicates of the wild-type and mutant strains showed that the proteinase catalytic domain of each of the mutants was not expressed. This analysis further showed that RgpB appeared as 72- and 80-kDa bands, and the catalytic domains of RgpA and Kgp appeared as processed 45-kDa and 48-kDa bands, respectively. In the murine lesion model, mice were challenged with three doses of each mutant and wild-type strain. At the lower dose (3.0 × 109 viable-cells), no lesions were recorded for each of the mutants, whereas wild-type W50 induced large ulcerative lesions. At a dose of 6.0 × 109 viable-cells, all the mice challenged with the wild-type strain died, whereas mice challenged with the RgpA− and RgpB− isogenic mutants did not die but developed lesions. Mice challenged with the Kgp−isogenic mutant at this dose did not develop lesions. At a 1.2 × 1010 viable-cell dose, only 40% of mice challenged with the Kgp− mutant developed lesions, and these lesions were significantly smaller than lesions induced by the wild-type strain at the 3.0 × 109 viable-cell dose. All the mice challenged with the RgpA− mutant died at the 1.2 × 1010 viable-cell dose, whereas only 20% died when challenged with the RgpB− mutant at this dose. Wild-type phenotype was restored to the RgpB− mutant by complementation with plasmid pNJR12::rgpBcontaining the rgpB gene. There was no difference between the pNJR12::rgpB-complemented RgpB− mutant and the wild-type W50 strain in whole-cell Arg-x activity, protein profile, or virulence in the murine lesion model. These results show that the three proteinases, RgpA, RgpB, and Kgp, all contributed to virulence of P. gingivalis W50 in the murine lesion model and that the order in which they contributed was Kgp ≫ RgpB ≥ RgpA.

Immunization with the RgpA-Kgp Proteinase-Adhesin Complexes of Porphyromonas gingivalis Protects against Periodontal Bone Loss in the Rat Periodontitis Model

ABSTRACT A major virulence factor of Porphyromonas gingivalis is the extracellular noncovalently associated complexes of Arg-X- and Lys-X-specific cysteine proteinases and adhesins designated the RgpA-Kgp complexes. In this study we investigated the ability of RgpA-Kgp as an immunogen to protect against P. gingivalis-induced periodontal bone loss in the rat. Specific-pathogen-free Sprague-Dawley rats were immunized with either formalin-killed whole P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 cells with incomplete Freunds adjuvant, RgpA-Kgp with incomplete Freunds adjuvant, or incomplete Freunds adjuvant alone. The animals were then challenged by oral inoculation with live P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 cells. Marked periodontal bone loss was observed in animals immunized with incomplete Freunds adjuvant alone; this bone loss was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that detected in animals immunized with formalin-killed whole cells or RgpA-Kgp or in unchallenged animals. There was no significant difference in periodontal bone loss between animals immunized with formalin-killed whole cells and those immunized with RgpA-Kgp. The bone loss in these animals was also not significantly different from that in unchallenged animals. DNA probe analysis of subgingival plaque samples showed that 100% of the animals immunized with incomplete Freunds adjuvant alone and challenged with P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 were positive for the bacterium. However, P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 could not be detected in subgingival plaque samples from animals immunized with formalin-killed whole cells or with RgpA-Kgp. Immunization with formalin-killed whole cells or RgpA-Kgp induced a high-titer serum immunoglobulin G2a response. Western blot analysis of RgpA-Kgp using pooled protective antisera taken from rats immunized with RgpA-Kgp revealed immunodominant bands at 44, 39, and 27 kDa. In conclusion, immunization with RgpA-Kgp restricted colonization by P. gingivalis and periodontal bone loss in the rat.

Characterization of a Novel Outer Membrane Hemin-Binding Protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative, anaerobic coccobacillus that has been implicated as a major etiological agent in the development of chronic periodontitis. In this paper, we report the characterization of a protein, IhtB (iron heme transport; formerly designated Pga30), that is an outer membrane hemin-binding protein potentially involved in iron assimilation by P. gingivalis. IhtB was localized to the cell surface of P. gingivalis by Western blot analysis of a Sarkosyl-insoluble outer membrane preparation and by immunocytochemical staining of whole cells using IhtB peptide-specific antisera. The protein, released from the cell surface, was shown to bind to hemin using hemin-agarose. The growth of heme-limited, but not heme-replete, P. gingivalis cells was inhibited by preincubation with IhtB peptide-specific antisera. The ihtB gene was located between an open reading frame encoding a putative TonB-linked outer membrane receptor and three open reading frames that have sequence similarity to ATP binding cassette transport system operons in other bacteria. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of IhtB showed significant similarity to the Salmonella typhimurium protein CbiK, a cobalt chelatase that is structurally related to the ATP-independent family of ferrochelatases. Molecular modeling indicated that the IhtB amino acid sequence could be threaded onto the CbiK fold with the IhtB structural model containing the active-site residues critical for chelatase activity. These results suggest that IhtB is a peripheral outer membrane chelatase that may remove iron from heme prior to uptake by P. gingivalis.

Role of oxyR in the Oral Anaerobe Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an anaerobic microorganism that inhabits the oral cavity, where oxidative stress represents a constant challenge. A putative transcriptional regulator associated with oxidative stress, an oxyR homologue, is known from the P. gingivalis W83 genome sequence. We used microarrays to characterize the response of P. gingivalis to H2O2 and examine the role of oxyR in the regulation of this response. Most organisms in which oxyR has been investigated are facultative anaerobes or aerobes. In contrast to the OxyR-regulated response of these microorganisms to H2O2, the main feature of the response in P. gingivalis was a concerted up-regulation of insertion sequence elements related to IS1 transposases. Common OxyR-regulated genes such as dps and ahpFC were not positively regulated in P. gingivalis in response to H2O2. However, their expression was dependent on the presence of a functional OxyR, as revealed by microarray comparison of an oxyR mutant to the wild type. Phenotypic characterization of the oxyR mutant showed that OxyR plays a role in both the resistance to H2O2 and the aerotolerance of P. gingivalis. Escherichia coli and other bacteria with more complex respiratory requirements use OxyR for regulating resistance to H2O2 and use a separate regulator for aerotolerance. In P. gingivalis, the presence of a single protein combining the two functions might be related to the comparatively smaller genome size of this anaerobic microorganism. In conclusion, these results suggest that OxyR does not act as a sensor of H2O2 in P. gingivalis but constitutively activates transcription of oxidative-stress-related genes under anaerobic growth.

PG0026 Is the C-terminal Signal Peptidase of a Novel Secretion System of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Background: Several virulence factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis have a novel C-terminal signal that directs secretion across the outer membrane. Results: The predicted catalytic amino acid of PG0026 was essential for the removal of this signal. Conclusion: PG0026 is a novel C-terminal signal peptidase. Significance: We have identified a novel signal peptidase of a new type of secretion system. Protein substrates of a novel secretion system of Porphyromonas gingivalis contain a conserved C-terminal domain (CTD) of ∼70–80 amino acid residues that is essential for their secretion and attachment to the cell surface. The CTD itself has not been detected in mature substrates, suggesting that it may be removed by a novel signal peptidase. More than 10 proteins have been shown to be essential for the proper functioning of the secretion system, and one of these, PG0026, is a predicted cysteine proteinase that also contains a CTD, suggesting that it may be a secreted component of the secretion system and a candidate for being the CTD signal peptidase. A PG0026 deletion mutant was constructed along with a PG0026C690A targeted mutant encoding an altered catalytic Cys residue. Analysis of clarified culture fluid fractions by SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry revealed that the CTD was released intact into the surrounding medium in the wild type strain, but not in the PG0026 mutant strains. Western blot experiments revealed that the maturation of a model substrate was stalled at the CTD-removal step specifically in the PG0026 mutants, and whole cell ELISA experiments demonstrated partial secretion of substrates to the cell surface. The CTD was also shown to be accessible at the cell surface in the PG0026 mutants, suggesting that the CTD was secreted but could not be cleaved. The data indicate that PG0026 is responsible for the cleavage of the CTD signal after substrates are secreted across the OM.

A cell-associated protein complex of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 composed of Arg- and Lys-specific cysteine proteinases and adhesins.

Porphyromonas gingivalis has been associated with the development of adult periodontitis and cysteine proteinases with trypsin-like specificity have been implicated as major virulence factors. We have extracted the major cell-associated trypsin-like proteolytic activity of P. gingivalis W50 using mild sonication. Anion-exchange and gel-filtration FPLC of the sonicate revealed that Arg- and Lys-specific proteinase activity was associated with a 300 kDa complex which could be dissociated into seven bands (48, 45, 44, 39, 27, 17 and 15 kDa) by SDS-PAGE with the 44 kDa band containing two different proteins as shown by N-terminal sequence analysis. On further chromatography of the 300 kDa complex on Arg-Sepharose the majority of the complex eluted from the affinity column as an undissociated complex. However, a small amount dissociated such that the Lys- and Arg-specific activities could be separated by eluting first with lysine then arginine, respectively. The 45 kDa protein of the complex was purified by further anion-exchange FPLC in the presence of octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and was shown to be an Arg-specific, thiol-activated, calcium-stabilized cysteine proteinase. The 48 kDa protein was also further purified in a similar fashion and shown to be a Lys-specific cysteine proteinase that was not inhibited by EDTA. The two 44 kDa and the 39, 27, 17 and 15 kDa proteins of the complex exhibit amino acid sequence homology and are proposed to be haemagglutinins/adhesins. The 45 kDa Arg-specific proteinase and one of the 44 kDa adhesins as well as the 15, 17 and 27 kDa adhesins are processed from the single polyprotein encoded by the gene designated prtR, with all proteins preceded by an Arg or Lys residue within the polyprotein. Similarly, the 48 kDa Lys-specific proteinase, the 39 and 15 kDa adhesins as well as the other 44 kDa adhesin of the 300 kDa complex are encoded by a single gene designated prtK, with all proteins preceded by an Arg or Lys residue within the polyprotein. The 39, 15 and 44 kDa adhesins of PrtK all exhibit high homology with the 44, 15, 17 and 27 kDa adhesins encoded by prtR, particularly the 15 kDa proteins which are identical. The cell-associated proteinase-adhesin complex, designated PrtR-PrtK, is therefore composed of the two gene products, the mature PrtR (160 kDa) and mature PrtK (163 kDa) that are further proteolytically processed (most likely autolytically) to release proteinase and adhesin domains that remain non-covalently associated. The fully processed PrtR-PrtK complex comprises the cysteine proteinases-PrtR45 and PrtK48 and seven sequence-related adhesin molecules, PrtR44, PrtR15, PrtR17, PrtR27 and PrtK39, PrtK15 and PrtK44. We propose that this proteinase-adhesin complex is a major virulence factor for P. gingivalis involved in the evasion of host defence and in the assimilation of haem and peptides.

Serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG Subclass Responses to the RgpA-Kgp Proteinase-Adhesin Complex of Porphyromonas gingivalis in Adult Periodontitis

ABSTRACT Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgG subclass responses to the RgpA-Kgp proteinase-adhesin complex of Porphyromonas gingivalis were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using adult periodontitis patients and age- and sex-matched controls. Twenty-five sera from subjects with adult periodontitis (diseased group) and 25 sera from healthy subjects (control group) were used for the study. Sera and subgingival plaque samples from 10 sites were collected from each patient at the time of clinical examination. The level of P. gingivalis in the plaque samples was determined using a DNA probe. Highly significant positive associations between the percentage of sites positive for P. gingivalis and measures of disease severity (mean pocket depth, mean attachment loss, and percentage of sites that bled on probing) were found. The diseased group had significantly higher specific IgG responses to the RgpA-Kgp complex than did the control group, and the responses were significantly associated with mean probing depths and percentage of sites positive for P. gingivalis. Analysis of the IgG subclass responses to the RgpA-Kgp complex revealed that the subclass distribution for both the diseased and control groups was IgG4 > IgG2 > IgG3 = IgG1. The IgG2 response to the complex was positively correlated with mean probing depth, whereas the IgG4 response was negatively correlated with this measure of disease severity. Immunoblot analysis of the RgpA-Kgp complex showed that sera from healthy subjects and those with low levels of disease, with high IgG4 and low IgG2 responses, reacted with the RgpA27, Kgp39, and RgpA44 adhesins; however, sera from diseased subjects with low IgG4 and high IgG2 responses reacted only with the RgpA44 and/or Kgp44 adhesins. Epitope mapping of the RgpA27 adhesin localized a major epitope recognized by IgG4 antibodies in sera from subjects with high IgG4 and low IgG2 responses to the RgpA-Kgp complex which was not recognized by sera from diseased subjects with low IgG4 and high IgG2 responses.

Kgp and RgpB, but Not RgpA, Are Important for Porphyromonas gingivalis Virulence in the Murine Periodontitis Model

ABSTRACT The contributions of three proteinase genes (rgpA, rgpB, and kgp) to the virulence of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 were investigated in the murine periodontitis model. Mice were orally inoculated with eight doses (1 × 1010 cells per dose) of rgpA, rgpB, kgp, rgpA rgpB, or rgpA rgpB kgp isogenic mutants, and the level of alveolar bone loss, immune response induced, and number of bacterial cells per half maxilla were compared with those of animals inoculated with wild-type P. gingivalis. The kgp, rgpB, rgpA rgpB, and rgpA rgpB kgp isogenic mutants induced significantly (P < 0.05) less bone loss than the rgpA isogenic mutant and the wild type did, and the virulence of the rgpA isogenic mutant and the wild type were not significantly different. Mice inoculated with the wild type or the rgpA isogenic mutant exhibited significantly (P < 0.01) more P. gingivalis cells per half maxilla than mice inoculated with rgpB, kgp, rgpA rgpB, and rgpA rgpB kgp isogenic mutants or nonchallenged mice did, as determined using real-time PCR. A significant positive correlation was found between the number of P. gingivalis cells detected per half maxilla and the amount of alveolar bone loss induced. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that each isogenic mutant and the wild type induced a predominant P. gingivalis antigen-specific immunoglobulin G3 (IgG3) response. Furthermore, the kgp and rgpA rgpB kgp isogenic mutants induced significantly (P < 0.05) lower IgG3 antibody responses than the responses induced by the wild type or the rgpA, rgpB, and rgpA rgpB isogenic mutants. The results suggest that the order in which the proteinases contribute to the virulence of P. gingivalis in the murine periodontitis model is Kgp ≥ RgpB ≫ RgpA.