Showing papers by "Robert Hurwitz published in 2011"

Crystal structure of PrgI-SipD: insight into a secretion competent state of the type three secretion system needle tip and its interaction with host ligands.

Abstract: Many infectious Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella typhimurium, require a Type Three Secretion System (T3SS) to translocate virulence factors into host cells. The T3SS consists of a membrane protein complex and an extracellular needle together that form a continuous channel. Regulated secretion of virulence factors requires the presence of SipD at the T3SS needle tip in S. typhimurium. Here we report three-dimensional structures of individual SipD, SipD in fusion with the needle subunit PrgI, and of SipD:PrgI in complex with the bile salt, deoxycholate. Assembly of the complex involves major conformational changes in both SipD and PrgI. This rearrangement is mediated via a π bulge in the central SipD helix and is stabilized by conserved amino acids that may allow for specificity in the assembly and composition of the tip proteins. Five copies each of the needle subunit PrgI and SipD form the T3SS needle tip complex. Using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and crystal structure analysis we found that the T3SS needle tip complex binds deoxycholate with micromolar affinity via a cleft formed at the SipD:PrgI interface. In the structure-based three-dimensional model of the T3SS needle tip, the bound deoxycholate faces the host membrane. Recently, binding of SipD with bile salts present in the gut was shown to impede bacterial infection. Binding of bile salts to the SipD:PrgI interface in this particular arrangement may thus inhibit the T3SS function. The structures presented in this study provide insight into the open state of the T3SS needle tip. Our findings present the atomic details of the T3SS arrangement occurring at the pathogen-host interface.

Impact of inducible co-stimulatory molecule (ICOS) on T-cell responses and protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Abstract: Even though Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains one of the top microbial killers, more than 90% of the 2 billion infected individuals never develop active tuberculosis (TB), indicating efficient immune control of infection in these individuals. Immune mechanisms promoting either control or reactivation of TB are incompletely understood. Kinetic analyses of T-cell responses against Mtb in C57BL/6 mice revealed surface expression of inducible co-stimulatory molecule (ICOS) on >30% of all CD4(+) T cells, suggesting a pivotal role of this costimulatory molecule of the CD28 family in TB control. Surprisingly, Mtb-infected ICOS(-/-) mice showed lower bacterial burden during the late chronic stage of infection as compared to WT controls. ICOS deficiency resulted in a reduced Mtb-specific CD8(+) T-cell response during late-stage infection. In contrast, the polyclonal CD4(+) Th1 response against Mtb was increased, most likely caused by diminished numbers and frequencies of Tregs. Thus, by altering effector T-cell populations differentially, ICOS signaling modulates TB control in the late stage of infection.