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Foor SD, Brangulis K, Shakya AK, Rana VS, Bista S, Kitsou C, Ronzetti M, Alreja AB, Linden SB, Altieri AS, Baljinnyam B, Akopjana I, Nelson DC, Simeonov A, Herzberg O, Caimano MJ, Pal U. A unique borrelial protein facilitates microbial immune evasion. mBio 2023; 14:e0213523. [PMID: 37830812 PMCID: PMC10653885 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02135-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Lyme disease is a major tick-borne infection caused by a bacterial pathogen called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by ticks and affects hundreds of thousands of people every year. These bacterial pathogens are distinct from other genera of microbes because of their distinct features and ability to transmit a multi-system infection to a range of vertebrates, including humans. Progress in understanding the infection biology of Lyme disease, and thus advancements towards its prevention, are hindered by an incomplete understanding of the microbiology of B. burgdorferi, partly due to the occurrence of many unique borrelial proteins that are structurally unrelated to proteins of known functions yet are indispensable for pathogen survival. We herein report the use of diverse technologies to examine the structure and function of a unique B. burgdorferi protein, annotated as BB0238-an essential virulence determinant. We show that the protein is structurally organized into two distinct domains, is involved in multiplex protein-protein interactions, and facilitates tick-to-mouse pathogen transmission by aiding microbial evasion of early host cellular immunity. We believe that our findings will further enrich our understanding of the microbiology of B. burgdorferi, potentially impacting the future development of novel prevention strategies against a widespread tick-transmitted infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelby D. Foor
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Kalvis Brangulis
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
- Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
| | - Anil K. Shakya
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Vipin S. Rana
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Sandhya Bista
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Chrysoula Kitsou
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Michael Ronzetti
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Adit B. Alreja
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Sara B. Linden
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Amanda S. Altieri
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Bolormaa Baljinnyam
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Inara Akopjana
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Daniel C. Nelson
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Anton Simeonov
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Osnat Herzberg
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Melissa J. Caimano
- Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Molecular Biology and Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
| | - Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
- Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, College Park, Maryland, USA
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Ronzetti M, Baljinnyam B, Jalal I, Pal U, Simeonov A. Application of biophysical methods for improved protein production and characterization: A case study on an high-temperature requirement A-family bacterial protease. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4498. [PMID: 36334045 PMCID: PMC9679970 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The high-temperature requirement A (HtrA) serine protease family presents an attractive target class for antibacterial therapeutics development. These proteins possess dual protease and chaperone functions and contain numerous binding sites and regulatory loops, displaying diverse oligomerization patterns dependent on substrate type and occupancy. HtrA proteins that are natively purified coelute with contaminating peptides and activating species, shifting oligomerization and protein structure to differently activated populations. Here, a redesigned HtrA production results in cleaner preparations with high yields by overexpressing and purifying target protein from inclusion bodies under denaturing conditions, followed by a high-throughput screen for optimal refolding buffer composition using function-agnostic biophysical techniques that do not rely on target-specific measurements. We use Borrelia burgdorferi HtrA to demonstrate the effectiveness of our function-agnostic approach, while characterization with both new and established biophysical methods shows the retention of proteolytic and chaperone activity of the refolded protein. This systematic workflow and toolset will translate to the production of HtrA-family proteins in higher quantities of pure and monodisperse composition than the current literature standard, with applicability to a broad array of protein purification strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Ronzetti
- National Center for Advancing Translational SciencesNational Institutes of HealthRockvilleMarylandUSA
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture & Natural ResourcesUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Bolormaa Baljinnyam
- National Center for Advancing Translational SciencesNational Institutes of HealthRockvilleMarylandUSA
| | | | - Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture & Natural ResourcesUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Anton Simeonov
- National Center for Advancing Translational SciencesNational Institutes of HealthRockvilleMarylandUSA
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Ronzetti MH, Baljinnyam B, Itkin Z, Jain S, Rai G, Zakharov AV, Pal U, Simeonov A. Application of temperature-responsive HIS-tag fluorophores to differential scanning fluorimetry screening of small molecule libraries. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1040039. [PMID: 36506591 PMCID: PMC9729254 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1040039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Differential scanning fluorimetry is a rapid and economical biophysical technique used to monitor perturbations to protein structure during a thermal gradient, most often by detecting protein unfolding events through an environment-sensitive fluorophore. By employing an NTA-complexed fluorophore that is sensitive to nearby structural changes in histidine-tagged protein, a robust and sensitive differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) assay is established with the specificity of an affinity tag-based system. We developed, optimized, and miniaturized this HIS-tag DSF assay (HIS-DSF) into a 1536-well high-throughput biophysical platform using the Borrelial high temperature requirement A protease (BbHtrA) as a proof of concept for the workflow. A production run of the BbHtrA HIS-DSF assay showed a tight negative control group distribution of Tm values with an average coefficient of variation of 0.51% and median coefficient of variation of compound Tm of 0.26%. The HIS-DSF platform will provide an additional assay platform for future drug discovery campaigns with applications in buffer screening and optimization, target engagement screening, and other biophysical assay efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H. Ronzetti
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States,Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Bolormaa Baljinnyam
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States,*Correspondence: Bolormaa Baljinnyam, ; Anton Simeonov,
| | - Zina Itkin
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Sankalp Jain
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Ganesha Rai
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Alexey V. Zakharov
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Anton Simeonov
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States,*Correspondence: Bolormaa Baljinnyam, ; Anton Simeonov,
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