Browsing by Author "Maresso, Anthony W."

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    Combining Random Gene Fission and Rational Gene Fusion To Discover Near-Infrared Fluorescent Protein Fragments That Report on Protein–Protein Interactions
    (American Chemical Society, 2015) Pandey, Naresh; Nobles, Christopher L.; Zechiedrich, Lynn; Maresso, Anthony W.; Silberg, Jonathan J.
    Gene fission can convert monomeric proteins into two-piece catalysts, reporters, and transcription factors for systems and synthetic biology. However, some proteins can be challenging to fragment without disrupting function, such as near-infrared fluorescent protein (IFP). We describe a directed evolution strategy that can overcome this challenge by randomly fragmenting proteins and concomitantly fusing the protein fragments to pairs of proteins or peptides that associate. We used this method to create libraries that express fragmented IFP as fusions to a pair of associating peptides (IAAL-E3 and IAAL-K3) and proteins (CheA and CheY) and screened for fragmented IFP with detectable near-infrared fluorescence. Thirteen novel fragmented IFPs were identified, all of which arose from backbone fission proximal to the interdomain linker. Either the IAAL-E3 and IAAL-K3 peptides or CheA and CheY proteins could assist with IFP fragment complementation, although the IAAL-E3 and IAAL-K3 peptides consistently yielded higher fluorescence. These results demonstrate how random gene fission can be coupled to rational gene fusion to create libraries enriched in fragmented proteins with AND gate logic that is dependent upon a proteinﾖprotein interaction, and they suggest that these near-infrared fluorescent protein fragments will be suitable as reporters for pairs of promoters and proteinﾖprotein interactions within whole animals.
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    Differential Function of Lip Residues in the Mechanism and Biology of an Anthrax Hemophore
    (Public Library of Science, 2012) Ekworomadu, MarCia T.; Poor, Catherine B.; Owens, Cedric P.; Balderas, Miriam A.; Fabian, Marian; Olson, John S.; Murphy, Frank; Balkabasi, Erol; Honsa, Erin S.; He, Chuan; Goulding, Celia W.; Maresso, Anthony W.
    To replicate in mammalian hosts, bacterial pathogens must acquire iron. The majority of iron is coordinated to the protoporphyrin ring of heme, which is further bound to hemoglobin. Pathogenic bacteria utilize secreted hemophores to acquire heme from heme sources such as hemoglobin.ﾠBacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax disease, secretes two hemophores, IsdX1 and IsdX2, to acquire heme from host hemoglobin and enhance bacterial replication in iron-starved environments. Both proteins contain NEAr-iron Transporter (NEAT) domains, a conserved protein module that functions in heme acquisition in Gram-positive pathogens. Here, we report the structure of IsdX1, the first of a Gram-positive hemophore, with and without bound heme. Overall, IsdX1 forms an immunoglobin-like fold that contains, similar to other NEAT proteins, a 310-helix near the heme-binding site. Because the mechanistic function of this helix in NEAT proteins is not yet defined, we focused on the contribution of this region to hemophore and NEAT protein activity, both biochemically and biologically in cultured cells. Site-directed mutagenesis of amino acids in and adjacent to the helix identified residues important for heme and hemoglobin association, with some mutations affecting both properties and other mutations affecting only heme stabilization. IsdX1 with mutations that reduced the ability to associate with hemoglobin and bind heme failed to restore the growth of a hemophore-deficient strain ofﾠB. anthracisﾠon hemoglobin as the sole iron source. These data indicate that not only is the 310-helix important for NEAT protein biology, but also that the processes of hemoglobin and heme binding can be both separate as well as coupled, the latter function being necessary for maximal heme-scavenging activity. These studies enhance our understanding of NEAT domain and hemophore function and set the stage for structure-based inhibitor design to block NEAT domain interaction with upstream ligands.
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    Enteroaggregative E. coli Adherence to Human Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans Drives Segment and Host Specific Responses to Infection
    (Public Library of Science, 2020) Rajan, Anubama; Robertson, Matthew J.; Carter, Hannah E.; Poole, Nina M.; Clark, Justin R.; Green, Sabrina I.; Criss, Zachary K.; Zhao, Boyang; Karandikar, Umesh; Xing, Yikun; Margalef-Català, Mar; Jain, Nikhil; Wilson, Reid L.; Bai, Fan; Hyser, Joseph M.; Petrosino, Joseph; Shroyer, Noah F.; Blutt, Sarah E.; Coarfa, Cristian; Song, Xuezheng; Prasad, BV Venkataram; Amieva, Manuel R.; Grande-Allen, Jane; Estes, Mary K.; Okhuysen, Pablo C.; Maresso, Anthony W.; Bioengineering
    Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is a significant cause of acute and chronic diarrhea, foodborne outbreaks, infections of the immunocompromised, and growth stunting in children in developing nations. There is no vaccine and resistance to antibiotics is rising. Unlike related E. coli pathotypes that are often associated with acute bouts of infection, EAEC is associated with persistent diarrhea and subclinical long-term colonization. Several secreted virulence factors have been associated with EAEC pathogenesis and linked to disease in humans, less certain are the molecular drivers of adherence to the intestinal mucosa. We previously established human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) as a model system to study host-EAEC interactions and aggregative adherence fimbriae A (AafA) as a major driver of EAEC adherence to HIEs. Here, we report a large-scale assessment of the host response to EAEC adherence from all four segments of the intestine across at least three donor lines for five E. coli pathotypes. The data demonstrate that the host response in the duodenum is driven largely by the infecting pathotype, whereas the response in the colon diverges in a patient-specific manner. Major pathways altered in gene expression in each of the four enteroid segments differed dramatically, with responses observed for inflammation, apoptosis and an overwhelming response to different mucin genes. In particular, EAEC both associated with large mucus droplets and specific mucins at the epithelial surface, binding that was ameliorated when mucins were removed, a process dependent on AafA. Pan-screening for glycans for binding to purified AafA identified the human ligand as heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Removal of HSPG abrogated EAEC association with HIEs. These results may mean that the human intestine responds remarkably different to distinct pathobionts that is dependent on the both the individual and intestinal segment in question, and uncover a major role for surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans as tropism-driving factor in adherence and/or colonization.