Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:53:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo5149_1.pdf: 3970263 bytes, checksum: 9d5eb7ba6122760de6e5e455fb706f21 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Bactérias do gênero Yersinia possuem um sistema de secreção tipo III, responsável pela translocação de fatores protéicos conhecidos como Yops, para o interior de células eucarióticas do hospedeiro. A proteína YopH é uma tirosina fosfatase que atua desfosforilando moléculas sinalizadoras e impedindo a fagocitose em macrófagos. Para uma secreção eficiente, ela necessita da presença da chaperona SycH que permite o seu reconhecimento pela maquinaria de secreção. Com a finalidade de analisar a expressão da proteína YopH em E. coli, foi construído um promotor híbrido formado pelo promotor lac de Escherichia coli seguido do promotor yopH de Yersinia enterocolitica. Este promotor foi capaz de direcionar uma forte expressão da YopH, em E. coli, e uma síntese ótima de YopH foi observada com o aumento da temperatura (37oC) e em culturas em fase de crescimento. A expressão da YopH foi investigada em linhagens defectivas de E. coli para as proteínas homólogas às histonas, Hha e H-NS. A expressão foi significantemente maior a 24oC que a 37oC, na ausência de H-NS, mas não na ausência de Hha. Estes resultados são compatíveis com o papel da H-NS na regulação da atividade do promotor yoph, possivelmente através da presença de curvas em sua estrutura. Para determinar se a presença da chaperona SycH influenciaria na expressão da YopH, em E. coli, a sequência codificadora para esta proteína foi amplificada e clonada no plasmídio pBAD33. Foi observada a expressão da SycH em culturas de E. coli, apenas na presença de arabinose. A co-expressão das proteínas YopH e SycH, em EPEC, revelou uma redução na expressão da YopH, na presença de arabinose. O mesmo foi observado em culturas de EPEC contendo apenas o plasmídio pTZ/YopH, onde concentrações variadas de arabinose e glicose estariam influenciando a expressão da YopH. Para verificar o potencial da proteína YopH no diagnóstico da peste, diversos soros de pacientes suspeitos de peste e coelhos imunizados com Y. pestis foram testados por Western-blot. Não houve reconhecimento da YopH nos soros testados

The enteropathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis binds to β1 integrins on a host cell via its surface protein invasin. This event stimulates signal transduction to the actin cytoskeleton of the eukaryotic cell, which allows the cell to engulf the bacterium that is attached to its surface. However, the pathogen Y. pseudotuberculosis can evade such phagocytosis by injecting virulence effectors that interfere with the antipathogenic machinery of the host cells. One of these virulence effectors is the tyrosine phosphatase YopH. Through its enzymatic activity, YopH blocks phagocytosis by affecting the signalling that is associated with cytoskeletal rearrangements. Cas is a substrate of YopH in both professional and non-professional phagocytes. We showed that YopH binds to the central substrate domain of Cas and that this interaction is required for YopH to target focal adhesion structures in host cells. We also demonstrated that YopH binds another substrate, FAK, through Cas. Moreover, we suggested that targeting of Cas is necessary for the cytotoxic effects mediated by YopH. The protein Fyb is specific to immune cells, and it has been identified as a substrate of YopH in macrophages. We discovered that both the N-terminal substrate-binding domain and the C-terminal catalytic region of YopH bind Fyb in a phosphotyrosine-dependent manner. Moreover, we observed that both the substrate-binding domain and the phosphatase activity of YopH are essential for the effects of this protein on macrophages, which include dephosphorylation of Fyb, blocking of phagocytosis, and cytotoxicity. The role of Fyb in macrophages is largely unknown, although there is evidence that this protein is involved in integrin-linked actin organization. We identified a novel interaction partner of Fyb, mAbp1, which is a protein that binds to F-actin. Studies in vitro indicated that mAbp1 binds to the N terminus of Fyb via a C-terminal SH3 domain. We also found that both Fyb and mAbp1 co-localize with F-actin at the leading edges of macrophages. Further studies suggested that mAbp1 influences the spreading of macrophages and the antiphagocytosis mediated by pathogenic Yersinia. These results support a role for Fyb in signalling that affects F-actin dynamics, and they also provide additional insight into the mechanisms involved. Fyb has been shown to form a complex with SKAP-HOM, another substrate of YopH in macrophages. Our data implied that the level of SKAP-HOM protein depends on the presence of Fyb, but the function of the Fyb/SKAP-HOM complex in macrophages has not been determined. However, since Fyb is the only known haematopoietic-specific substrate of YopH, it is possible that Fyb is involved in other antimicrobial functions.

Integrins are a large family of membrane-spanning heterodimeric (αβ) receptors that bind to ligands on other cells or to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. These receptors mediate bidirectional signaling over the cell membrane to induce signaling cascades mediating functions as cell adhesion, spreading and migration. This signaling takes place at cell-matrix adhesions, which are sites where clustered and ligand-bound integrins connect to and mediate stabilization of the actin cytoskeleton, and induce signaling cascades. Integrins have a short cytoplasmic tail that is crucial for the bidirectional signaling, and the β1-integrin subunit exists in five splice variants only differing in the membrane-distal part of the cytoplasmic tail. This region of the almost ubiquitously expressed β1-integrin, β1A, contains two protein tyrosine motifs (NPXYs) interspaced with a threonine-rich region, while this region of the β1B splice variant is completely different and lacks known motifs. In contrast to the β1A-integrin, the β1B variant cannot mediate cell-matrix adhesion formation following binding to ECM ligands. The enteropathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis binds to β1-integrins on the host cell with invasin, and this stimulates uptake of the bacterium. However, upon binding to the host cell, pathogenic Yersinia strains inject virulence effectors that block uptake. One effector responsible for the blocking is a tyrosine phosphatase, YopH. We identified the targets for this effector in the macrophage-like cell line J774A.1, which represent a professional phagocyte and thus is the likely target cell for the antiphagocytic effect of Yersinia. Two YopH target proteins were p130Cas and ADAP, of which the latter interestingly is an adapter protein specifically expressed in hematopoietic cells. ADAP has previously been implicated to participate in Fc-receptor-mediated phagocytosis and in communication between T-cell receptors and integrins. We also studied the importance of the cytoplasmic tail of β1-integrin for uptake of Yersinia. The GD25 cell line, which is a fibroblast-like cell line that lacks endogenous β1-integrins, was used together with GD25 cells transfected with β1B, β1Α or cytoplasmic tail mutants of β1A. These studies revealed that β1B-integrins could bind to invasin but not mediate uptake of Yersinia, while β1A both bound to invasin and mediated uptake. The first NPXY motif (unphosphorylated) and the double-threonines of the unique part of β1A were important for the ability of integrin to mediate uptake of Yersinia. These studies lead to the interesting finding that, when these cells were allowed to spread on invasin, those that expressed β1A spread as normal fibroblasts while for β1B-integrin-expressing cells, only finger-like protrusions of filopodia were formed. This provided us with a tool to study formation of filopodia without interference of the tightly linked process of lamellipodia formation. Initially, proteins that localized to the tip complex of these filopodia were identified. These were talin, VASP and interestingly the p130Cas-Crk-DOCK180 scaffold, while FAK, paxillin and vinculin were absent. In addition, VASP, p130Cas and Crk were shown to be important for the filopodia formation in GD25β1B. Further, the role of the actin motor myosin X, which previously has been implicated in formation of filopodia, was studied in the GD25Β1B cells and it was shown that myosin X not was important for filopodia formation, but that it recruited FAK and vinculin to the tip complexes of filopodia.

The Type III secretion system (T3SS) is an important virulence mechanism that allows pathogenic bacteria to translocate virulence effectors directly into the cytoplasm of eukaryotic host cells to manipulate the host cells in favor of the pathogen. Enteropathogenic Yersinia pseudotuberculosis use a T3SS to translocate effectors, Yops, that prevent phagocytosis by immune cells, and is largely dependent on it to establish and sustain an infection in the lymphoid tissues of a mammalian host. Translocation into a host cell requires specific translocator proteins, and is tightly controlled from both the bacterial and host cell cytoplasm. We aimed to investigate two of the regulatory elements, YopN and LcrV, to gain more insight into the translocation mechanism. Two separate regulatory complexes regulate expression and secretion of Yops, however, the processes are linked so that expression is induced when secretion is activated. A complex, including YopD, prevents expression of Yops, while YopN-TyeA and LcrG block secretion. LcrV is required to relieve the secretion block, by sequestering LcrG. We verified that LcrG binds to the C-terminal part of LcrV, which is consistent with what has been shown in Y. pestis. In addition to their regulatory roles, both LcrV and YopD are translocators and are assumed to interact at the bacterial surface, where LcrV promotes insertion of YopB and YopD into the host cell membrane. However, here we show that purified YopD failed to interact with LcrV, instead YopD solely interacted with a complex of LcrV-LcrG. This indicates that LcrV and YopD interact in the bacterial cytosol, which may be important for regulation of Yop expression and secretion. The established role of YopN is to block secretion prior to host cell contact. We found that deleting the central region (amino acids 76-181) had no effect on the regulatory role of YopN in expression and secretion of Yops. Interestingly, we found that, even though the YopN∆76-181 mutant secreted the translocators with similar kinetics as the wild type strain, translocation of the effector YopH, into HeLa cells, was significantly reduced. Consequently, the YopN∆76-181 mutant was unable to block phagocytosis, almost to the same level as the ∆lcrV mutant which is completely unable to translocate YopH. Our results indicate that YopN is involved in the translocation step in addition to its role in regulating secretion. Further, we show that the amino terminal of LcrV, in the context of translocation, is involved in the early intracellular targeting of YopH in order to block phagocytosis efficiently and sustain an in vivo infection. LcrV mutants that failed to efficiently target YopH intracellularly were severely attenuated also for in vivo virulence. All together, we show that LcrV and YopN are involved in more steps in the regulation of translocation, than what was known before. Our studies also highlight that early translocation is essential for Yersinia to block phagocytosis, which in the end is essential for in vivo virulence.