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Hilbert ZA, Haffener PE, Young HJ, Schwiesow MJW, Leffler EM, Elde NC. Rapid evolution of glycan recognition receptors reveals an axis of host-microbe arms races beyond canonical protein-protein interfaces. Genome Biol Evol 2023:evad119. [PMID: 37390614 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Detection of microbial pathogens is a primary function of many mammalian immune proteins. This is accomplished through the recognition of diverse microbial-produced macromolecules including proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates. Pathogens subvert host defenses by rapidly changing these structures to avoid detection, placing strong selective pressures on host immune proteins that repeatedly adapt to remain effective. Signatures of rapid evolution have been identified in numerous immunity proteins involved in the detection of pathogenic protein substrates, but whether similar signals can be observed in host proteins engaged in interactions with other types of pathogen-derived molecules has received less attention. This focus on protein-protein interfaces has largely obscured the study of fungi as contributors to host-pathogen conflicts, despite their importance as a formidable class of vertebrate pathogens. Here, we provide evidence that mammalian immune receptors involved in the detection of microbial glycans have been subject to recurrent positive selection. We find that rapidly evolving sites in these genes cluster in key functional domains involved in carbohydrate recognition. Further, we identify convergent patterns of substitution and evidence for balancing selection in one particular gene, MelLec, which plays a critical role in controlling invasive fungal disease. Our results also highlight the power of evolutionary analyses to reveal uncharacterized interfaces of host-pathogen conflict by identifying genes, like CLEC12A, with strong signals of positive selection across mammalian lineages. These results suggest that the realm of interfaces shaped by host-microbe conflicts extends beyond the world of host-viral protein-protein interactions and into the world of microbial glycans and fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë A Hilbert
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Paige E Haffener
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Hannah J Young
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Mara J W Schwiesow
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Ellen M Leffler
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Nels C Elde
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
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Ghosh S, Ahearn CP, Isabella CR, Marando VM, Dodge GJ, Bartlett H, McPherson RL, Dugan AE, Jain S, Neznanova L, Tettelin H, Putnik R, Grimes CL, Ruhl S, Kiessling LL, Imperiali B. Human oral lectin ZG16B acts as a cell wall polysaccharide probe to decode host-microbe interactions with oral commensals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2216304120. [PMID: 37216558 PMCID: PMC10235990 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216304120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The oral microbiome is critical to human health and disease, yet the role that host salivary proteins play in maintaining oral health is unclear. A highly expressed gene in human salivary glands encodes the lectin zymogen granule protein 16 homolog B (ZG16B). Despite the abundance of this protein, its interaction partners in the oral microbiome are unknown. ZG16B possesses a lectin fold, but whether it binds carbohydrates is unclear. We postulated that ZG16B would bind microbial glycans to mediate recognition of oral microbes. To this end, we developed a microbial glycan analysis probe (mGAP) strategy based on conjugating the recombinant protein to fluorescent or biotin reporter functionality. Applying the ZG16B-mGAP to dental plaque isolates revealed that ZG16B predominantly binds to a limited set of oral microbes, including Streptococcus mitis, Gemella haemolysans, and, most prominently, Streptococcus vestibularis. S. vestibularis is a commensal bacterium widely distributed in healthy individuals. ZG16B binds to S. vestibularis through the cell wall polysaccharides attached to the peptidoglycan, indicating that the protein is a lectin. ZG16B slows the growth of S. vestibularis with no cytotoxicity, suggesting that it regulates S. vestibularis abundance. The mGAP probes also revealed that ZG16B interacts with the salivary mucin MUC7. Analysis of S. vestibularis and MUC7 with ZG16B using super-resolution microscopy supports ternary complex formation that can promote microbe clustering. Together, our data suggest that ZG16B influences the compositional balance of the oral microbiome by capturing commensal microbes and regulating their growth using a mucin-assisted clearance mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumi Ghosh
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Christian P. Ahearn
- Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, NY14214
| | | | - Victoria M. Marando
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Gregory J. Dodge
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Helen Bartlett
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Robert L. McPherson
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Amanda E. Dugan
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Shikha Jain
- Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, NY14214
| | - Lubov Neznanova
- Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, NY14214
| | - Hervé Tettelin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21201
| | - Rachel Putnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE19716
| | - Catherine L. Grimes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE19716
| | - Stefan Ruhl
- Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, NY14214
| | - Laura L. Kiessling
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Barbara Imperiali
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
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McKitrick TR, Ackerman ME, Anthony RM, Bennett CS, Demetriou M, Hudalla GA, Ribbeck K, Ruhl S, Woo CM, Yang L, Zost SJ, Schnaar RL, Doering TL. The Crossroads of Glycoscience, Infection, and Immunology. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:731008. [PMID: 34646251 PMCID: PMC8504252 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.731008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in experimental capabilities in the glycosciences offer expanding opportunities for discovery in the broad areas of immunology and microbiology. These two disciplines overlap when microbial infection stimulates host immune responses and glycan structures are central in the processes that occur during all such encounters. Microbial glycans mediate host-pathogen interactions by acting as surface receptors or ligands, functioning as virulence factors, impeding host immune responses, or playing other roles in the struggle between host and microbe. In the context of the host, glycosylation drives cell–cell interactions that initiate and regulate the host response and modulates the effects of antibodies and soluble immune mediators. This perspective reports on a workshop organized jointly by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in May 2020. The conference addressed the use of emerging glycoscience tools and resources to advance investigation of glycans and their roles in microbe-host interactions, immune-mediated diseases, and immune cell recognition and function. Future discoveries in these areas will increase fundamental scientific understanding and have the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of infections and immune dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya R McKitrick
- National Center for Functional Glycomics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Robert M Anthony
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Clay S Bennett
- Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Michael Demetriou
- Department of Neurology, Microbiology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Gregory A Hudalla
- J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Katharina Ribbeck
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Stefan Ruhl
- Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Christina M Woo
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Seth J Zost
- Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Ronald L Schnaar
- Department of Pharmacology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Tamara L Doering
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
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