| 1. |
- Wassing, Gabriela M., et al.
(författare)
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DNA Blocks the Lethal Effect of Human Beta-Defensin 2 Against Neisseria meningitidis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neisseria meningitidis is a gram-negative bacterium that often asymptomatically colonizes the human nasopharyngeal tract. These bacteria cross the epithelial barrier can cause life-threatening sepsis and/or meningitis. Antimicrobial peptides are one of the first lines of defense against invading bacterial pathogens. Human beta-defensin 2 (hBD2) is an antimicrobial peptide with broad antibacterial activity, although its mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of hBD2 on N. meningitidis. We showed that hBD2 binds to and kills actively growing meningococcal cells. The lethal effect was evident after 2 h incubation with the peptide, which suggests a slow killing mechanism. Further, the membrane integrity was not changed during hBD2 treatment. Incubation with lethal doses of hBD2 decreased the presence of diplococci; the number and size of bacterial microcolonies/aggregates remained constant, indicating that planktonic bacteria may be more susceptible to the peptide. Meningococcal DNA bound hBD2 in mobility shift assays and inhibited the lethal effect of hBD2 in a dose-dependent manner both in suspension and biofilms, supporting the interaction between hBD2 and DNA. Taken together, the ability of meningococcal DNA to bind hBD2 opens the possibility that extracellular DNA due to bacterial lysis may be a means of N. meningitidis to evade immune defenses.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Braun, Tatjana, et al.
(författare)
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Archaeal actin from a hyperthermophile forms a single-stranded filament
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 112:30, s. 9340-9345
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The prokaryotic origins of the actin cytoskeleton have been firmly established, but it has become clear that the bacterial actins form a wide variety of different filaments, different both from each other and from eukaryotic F-actin. We have used electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) to examine the filaments formed by the protein crenactin (a crenarchaeal actin) from Pyrobaculum calidifontis, an organism that grows optimally at 90 degrees C. Although this protein only has similar to 20% sequence identity with eukaryotic actin, phylogenetic analyses have placed it much closer to eukaryotic actin than any of the bacterial homologs. It has been assumed that the crenactin filament is double-stranded, like F-actin, in part because it would be hard to imagine how a single-stranded filament would be stable at such high temperatures. We show that not only is the crenactin filament single-stranded, but that it is remarkably similar to each of the two strands in F-actin. A large insertion in the crenactin sequence would prevent the formation of an F-actin-like double-stranded filament. Further, analysis of two existing crystal structures reveals six different subunit-subunit interfaces that are filament-like, but each is different from the others in terms of significant rotations. This variability in the subunit-subunit interface, seen at atomic resolution in crystals, can explain the large variability in the crenactin filaments observed by cryo-EM and helps to explain the variability in twist that has been observed for eukaryotic actin filaments.
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| 4. |
- Couturier, Mohea, et al.
(författare)
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The DNA Methylome of the Hyperthermoacidophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- DNA methylation is the most common epigenetic modification observed in the genomic DNA (gDNA) of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Methylated nucleobases, N-6-methyladenine (m6A), N-4-methyl-cytosine (m4C), and 5-methyl-cytosine (m5C), detected on gDNA represent the discrimination mark between self and non-self DNA when they are part of restriction-modification systems in prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea). In addition, m5C in Eukaryotes and m6A in Bacteria play an important role in the regulation of key cellular processes. Although archaeal genomes present modified bases as in the two other domains of life, the significance of DNA methylations as regulatory mechanisms remains largely uncharacterized in Archaea. Here, we began by investigating the DNA methylome of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. The strategy behind this initial study entailed the use of combined digestion assays, dot blots, and genome resequencing, which utilizes specific restriction enzymes, antibodies specifically raised against m6A and m5C and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing, respectively, to identify DNA methylations occurring in exponentially growing cells. The previously identified restriction-modification system, specific of S. acidocaldarius, was confirmed by digestion assay and SMRT sequencing while, the presence of m6A was revealed by dot blot and identified on the characteristic Dam motif by SMRT sequencing. No m5C was detected by dot blot under the conditions tested. Furthermore, by comparing the distribution of both detected methylations along the genome and, by analyzing DNA methylation profiles in synchronized cells, we investigated in which cellular pathways, in particular the cell cycle, this m6A methylation could be a key player. The analysis of sequencing data rejected a role for m6A methylation in another defense system and also raised new questions about a potential involvement of this modification in the regulation of other biological functions in S. acidocaldarius.
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| 5. |
- Eklund, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the active site of tripeptidyl-peptidase II through studies of pH dependence of reaction kinetics
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Proteins and Proteomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1570-9639 .- 1878-1454. ; 1824:4, s. 561-570
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tripeptidyl-peptidase II (TPP II) is a subtilisin-like serine protease which forms a large enzyme complex (> 4 MDa). It is considered a potential drug target due to its involvement in specific physiological processes. However, information is scarce concerning the kinetic characteristics of TPP II and its active site features, which are important for design of efficient inhibitors. To amend this, we probed the active site by determining the pH dependence of TPP II catalysis. Access to pure enzyme is a prerequisite for kinetic investigations and herein we introduce the first efficient purification system for heterologously expressed mammalian TPP II. The pH dependence of kinetic parameters for hydrolysis of two different chromogenic substrates, Ala-Ala-Phe-pNA and Ala-Ala-Ala-pNA, was determined for murine, human and Drosophila melanogaster TPP II as well as mutant variants thereof. The investigation demonstrated that TPP II, in contrast to subtilisin, has a bell-shaped pH dependence of kcatapp/KM probably due to deprotonation of the N-terminal amino group of the substrate at higher pH. Since both the KM and kcatapp are lower for cleavage of AAA-pNA than for AAF-pNA we propose that the former can bind non-productively to the active site of the enzyme, a phenomenon previously observed with some substrates for subtilisin. Two mutant variants, H267A and D387G, showed bell-shaped pH-dependence of kcatapp, possibly due to an impaired protonation of the leaving group. This work reveals previously unknown differences between TPP II orthologues and subtilisin as well as features that might be conserved within the entire family of subtilisin-like serine peptidases.
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| 6. |
- Eklund, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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Inter-species variation in the pH dependence of tripeptidyl-peptidase II
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tripeptidyl-peptidase II (TPP II) is a large enzyme complex (>4 MDa) participating in the general protein turn-over in the cell downstream of the proteasome. In addition, there have been reports of involvement of TPP II in different physiological situations. To facilitate further investigations of the physiological role of TPP II and its enzymatic properties, a characterization at protein level is necessary. Therefore, an expression system for murine TPP II using Escherichia coli has been developed. The pH-optimum for cleavage of two different chromogenic substrates, Ala-Ala-Phe-pNA and Ala-Ala-Ala-pNA, was investigated for mTPP II, and compared with human TPP II and TPP II from Drosophila melanogaster. It was shown that the mouse enzyme had similar pH dependence as the human enzyme, while dTPP II had a slightly lower optimum. Surprisingly, the investigation also demonstrated that TPP II from all sources showed a different pH-profile for hydrolysis of AAA-pNA compared to AAF-pNA. To investigate this observation further, steady-state kinetic parameters were determined at various pH. Since both the KM and Vmax are lower for cleavage of AAA-pNA, a potential explanation could be that the substrate AAA-pNA is non-productively bound to the active site of the enzyme.
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| 7. |
- Ettema, Thijs J. G., et al.
(författare)
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An actin-based cytoskeleton in archaea
- 2011
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Ingår i: Molecular Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 0950-382X .- 1365-2958. ; 80:4, s. 1052-1061
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In eukaryotic and bacterial cells, spatial organization is dependent upon cytoskeletal filaments. Actin is a main eukaryotic cytoskeletal element, involved in key processes such as cell shape determination, mechanical force generation and cytokinesis. We describe an archaeal cytoskeleton which forms helical structures within Pyrobaculum calidifontis cells, as shown by in situ immunostaining. The core components include an archaeal actin homologue, Crenactin, closely related to the eukaryotic counterpart. The crenactin gene belongs to a conserved gene cluster denoted Arcade (actin-related cytoskeleton in Archaea involved in shape determination). The phylogenetic distribution of arcade genes is restricted to the crenarchaeal Thermoproteales lineage, and to Korarchaeota, and correlates with rod-shaped and filamentous cell morphologies. Whereas Arcadin-1, -3 and -4 form helical structures, suggesting cytoskeleton-associated functions, Arcadin-2 was found to be localized between segregated nucleoids in a cell subpopulation, in agreement with possible involvement in cytokinesis. The results support a crenarchaeal origin of the eukaryotic actin cytoskeleton and, as such, have implications for theories concerning the origin of the eukaryotic cell.
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| 8. |
- Ettema, Thijs J. G., et al.
(författare)
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Rolf Bernander (1956-2014) : pioneer of the archaeal cell cycle Obituary
- 2014
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Ingår i: Molecular Microbiology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0950-382X .- 1365-2958. ; 92:5, s. 903-909
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- On 19 January 2014 Rolf (Roffe') Bernander passed away unexpectedly. Rolf was a dedicated scientist; his research aimed at unravelling the cell biology of the archaeal domain of life, especially cell cycle-related questions, but he also made important contributions in other areas of microbiology. Rolf had a professor position in the Molecular Evolution programme at Uppsala University, Sweden for about 8 years, and in January 2013 he became chair professor at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute at Stockholm University in Sweden. Rolf was an exceptional colleague and will be deeply missed by his family and friends, and the colleagues and co-workers that he leaves behind in the scientific community. He will be remembered for his endless enthusiasm for science, his analytical mind, and his quirky sense of humour.
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| 9. |
- Haq, Syed Razaul, et al.
(författare)
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NMR resonance assignment and dynamics of profilin from Heimdallarchaeota
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The origin of the eukaryotic cell is an unsettled scientific question. The Asgard superphylum has emerged as a compelling target for studying eukaryogenesis due to the previously unseen diversity of eukaryotic signature proteins. However, our knowledge about these proteins is still relegated to metagenomic data and very little is known about their structural properties. Additionally, it is still unclear if these proteins are functionally homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts. Here, we expressed, purified and structurally characterized profilin from Heimdallarchaeota in the Asgard superphylum. The structural analysis shows that while this profilin possesses similar secondary structural elements as eukaryotic profilin, it contains additional secondary structural elements that could be critical for its function and an indication of divergent evolution.
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| 10. |
- Hurtig, Fredrik, 1988-
(författare)
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Divisive structures : Two billions years of biofilament evolution
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Our understanding of the functional and regulatory complexity that existed in the eukaryotic progenitor is poor, and investigations have been hindered by our nebulous understanding of where eukaryotes stem from. Recently discovered archaeal lineages with hitherto unseen homology to eukaryotic systems suggest archaea can further our understanding of the eukaryotic cell’s ancestry. However, much of archaeal biology remains largely unexplored. Two eukaryotic systems with archaeal homologues, namely the actin and ESCRT-III protein filament systems, are essential for diverse processes in eukaryotic biology. In this thesis, we show that an archaeal homologue of ESCRT-III divides the cell under proteasomal regulation, a regulatory mechanism central to eukaryotic cell cycle regulation. Additionally, we show how predicted putative profilin and gelsolin homologues regulate the postulated proto-cytoskeleton of Asgard archaea. In investigating the function and regulation of these archaeal systems we demonstrate compelling parallels between archaeal and eukaryotic regulatory strategies which stresses the close evolutionary relationship that exists between these two domains.
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