Fur Gene Product Research Articles

생육조건에 따른 Salmonella typhimurium의 숙주세포 부착성

Salmonella typhimurium TML이 Int-407 숙주세포에 부착하는 정도는 S. typhimurium이 낮은 농도의 철이 함유된 배지에서 배양되었을 때보다 LB 액체배지 또는 높은 농도의 철이 함유된 배지에서 생육한 것에서 약 10배 정도의 높은 수준으로 관찰되었다. 고농도의 철이 포함된 배양조건이 살모넬라가 숙주세포에 부착시키는 정도를 향상시키는데 반해, 칼슘, 코발트, 구리, 인산, 마그네슘 그리고 망간과 같은 다른 양이온은 그렇지 않다. 이것은 아마도 철이 Salmonella가 부착에 필요한 요소들의 발현을 활성화하는 역할을 하는 것으로 추정된다. 철 농도에 따른 부착정도의 차이들은 type 1 fimbriae, mannose resistant hemagglutinin과 flagellum등을 생성하지 않는 다양한 S. typhimurium 돌연변이주들에서도 관찰되는 것으로 미루어보아 이들 구조체들과 상관이 없는 밝혀지지 않은 어떤 인자가 부착성 증가에 관여하는 것으로 사료된다. fur유전자가 불활성화된 S. typhimurium 돌연변이주의 부착성이 야생형 Salmonella와 유사한 방식으로 철에 의해 조절되었는데, 이는 철 농도에 따른 부착성의 변화에 관여하는 잠재적인자의 발현이 Fur 단백질과 독립적으로 이루어진다는 것을 나타낸다. An approximately 10-fold higher level of adherence of Salmonella typhimurium strain TML to Int-407 cells was observed with organisms grown in Luria broth or in high-iron containing medium than those grown in low-iron containing medium. Iron specifically enhanced adherence, while other cations such as calcium, cobalt, copper, potassium, magnesium and manganese did not. It was suggested that iron did not act as a passive ligand - probably it stimulated production of bacterial factors necessary for adherence. A similar pattern of iron modulation of adhesiveness was also seen in Salmonella mutants with single or different combinations of multiple mutations in genes encoding the mannose sensitive hemagglutinin (type 1 fimbriae), mannose resistant hemagglutinin and flagellum. The adhesiveness of an isogenic fur mutant was modulated by iron in a manner similar to the wild-type strain, suggesting that iron modulation of adherence is independent of the fur gene product.

Reduced hydroperoxidase (HPI and HPII) activity in the Δ fur mutant contributes to increased sensitivity to UVA radiation in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, Δ fur (ferric uptake regulator) mutants are hypersensitive to various oxidative agents, including UVA radiation (400–315 nm). Studies suggest that UVA radiation mediates its biological effects on bacteria via oxidative mechanisms that lead to reactive oxygen species, including the superoxide anion radical ( O 2 - ) , hydroxyl radical (HO ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) and singlet oxygen ( 1O 2). There is accumulating evidence that Fur may play an important role in the defense against UVA radiation. In addition to regulating almost all genes directly involved in iron acquisition, Fur also regulates the expression of manganese and iron superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, FeSOD), key enzymes in the defense against oxygen toxicity in E. coli. In Δ fur mutants, there is a complete absence of FeSOD. Previous results suggest that the native iron chelating agent, enterobactin, which exists in increased levels in Δ fur mutants, is an endogenous chromophore for UVA, releasing Fe 2+ into the cytoplasm to catalyze the production of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. We now report that the hypersensitivity of Δ fur mutants to UVA irradiation is associated with reduced hydroperoxidase I (HPI) and hydroperoxidase II (HPII) activity, and is associated with a decrease in the transcription of katE and katG genes. The observed decrease in HPII activity in Δ fur mutants is also associated with reduced rpoS gene transcription. This study provides additional evidence that the Fur gene product, in addition to its known regulatory effect on the expression of SOD and iron uptake mechanisms, also regulates HPI and HPII activity levels in E. coli. An H 2O 2-inducible antioxidant defense system leading to an increase in HPI activity, is unaltered in Δ fur mutants.

Heme binding by a bacterial repressor protein, the gene product of the ferric uptake regulation (fur) gene of Escherichia coli.

The fur gene product, Fur, of Escherichia coli is a repressor when it binds Fe(II). Since heme and iron metabolism are closely linked and Fur is rich in histidine, a ligand for heme, the binding of heme to Fur was investigated. The oxidized Fur-heme complex is stable and low spin with a Soret maximum at 404 nm and no 620-nm band. CO coordinates with the reduced heme-Fur complex, causing a shift from 412 nm to 410 nm, and stabilizes it, increasing the half-life from 5 to 15 min. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra in the Soret region show heme bound in an asymmetric environment in Fur, both in the oxidized and reduced-CO forms. Quenching of tyrosine fluorescence by heme revealed rapid, tight binding (Kd < 1 microM) with an unusual stoichiometry of 1 heme:1 Fur dimer. Fur binds Mn(II), a model ligand for the endogenous Fe(II), much more weakly (Kd > 80 microM). Far-ultraviolet CD spectroscopy showed that the alpha-helix content of apo-Fur decreases slightly with heme binding, but increases with Mn(II) binding. Competition experiments indicated that heme interacts with Fur dimers at the same site as Mn(II) and can displace the metal. In contrast to Mn(II), Zn(II) did not quench the tyrosine fluoroescence of Fur, affected the CD spectrum less than Mn(II), but did bind in a manner which prevented heme from binding. In sum, Fur not only binds heme and Zn(II) with sufficient affinity to be biologically relevant, but the interactions that occur between these ligands and their effects on Mn(II) binding need to be taken into account when addressing the biological function of Fur.

Cloning and initial characterization of the Bordetella pertussis fur gene.

In several Gram-negative pathogens the fur (ferric uptake regulator) gene product controls the expression of many genes involved in iron uptake and virulence. To facilitate the study of iron-regulated gene expression in Bordetella pertussis, we cloned the fur gene from this organism. The B. pertussis fur gene product was 54% identical to the Escherichia coli Fur and complemented two E. coli fur mutants. As with the E. coli fur gene, sequences upstream of the B. pertussis fur were homologous to the consensus Fur-binding site and to the consensus catabolite activator protein binding site.

Iron specificity of the Fur-dependent regulation of the biosynthesis of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase in Escherichia coli.

The Fur protein, which regulates iron uptake in Escherichia coli, also represses the biosynthesis of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). A strain of E. coli bearing a lacZ fusion to the aerobactin operon was used to compare the metal specificities of the regulation of MnSOD and of aerobactin by Fur. Iron, but not manganese, acted as a corepressor of the Fur-dependent inhibition of MnSOD biosynthesis. The iron-mediated inhibition of MnSOD biosynthesis was dependent upon an intact fur locus, indicating that the effect of iron is mediated by the fur gene product. The suppression of the accumulation of MnSOD by iron, but not by manganese, was not due to destabilization of the MnSOD polypeptide by iron. Thus this effect of iron was also seen in a sodA::lacZ operon fusion in which the production of beta-galactosidase was regulated by the sodA promoter. In contrast, both iron and manganese served as corepressors of aerobactin biosynthesis. It thus appears that the effectiveness of specific metal cations to act as corepressors with Fur varies with the gene being regulated by the Fur-metal complex.

Cloning and functional expression of Dfurin2, a subtilisin-like proprotein processing enzyme of Drosophila melanogaster with multiple repeats of a cysteine motif.

Production of a variety of regulatory eukaryotic proteins, such as growth factors and polypeptide hormones, often involves endoproteolytic processing of proproteins at cleavage sites consisting of paired basic residues. The first known mammalian proprotein processing enzyme with such specificity is the human fur gene product furin. Structurally and functionally, furin is related to the subtilisin-like serine endoprotease kexin (EC 3.4.21.61) of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; unlike kexin, it contains a cysteine-rich region with an unknown function. Here, we describe cloning and sequencing of a 5.8-kbp cDNA of the Dfur2 gene, a fur-like gene of Drosophila melanogaster, which we found expressed during various stages of development. This Dfur2 cDNA has an open reading frame for a 1680-residue protein, called Dfurin2. Dfurin2 contains similar protein domains as mammalian furin, however, it has an extended amino-terminal region and its cysteine-rich region is much larger than that of mammalian furin. Because of this latter phenomenon, we were able to identify a particular cysteine motif that was repeated multiple times in Dfurin2 but present only twice in mammalian furin. Furthermore, we show that Dfur2 encodes an endoproteolytic enzyme with specificity for paired basic amino acid residues as, in cotransfection experiments, correct cleavage was demonstrated of the precursor of the von Willebrand factor but not of a cleavage mutant. Finally, Dfur2 was mapped to region 14C of the X chromosome of D. melanogaster.

Fur regulation in Yersinia species.

The effects of iron have been linked with several phenomena including regulation of membrane proteins; however, the mechanism of iron regulation is not well characterized in Yersinia pestis. It is well known that in Escherichia coli, the fur gene product mediates negative transcriptional regulation of several genes in response to iron. We have cloned a Y. pestis fur gene which is highly homologous to the E. coli fur regulatory gene. The sequence of the Y. pestis fur gene exhibits 75% homology to the E. coli gene at the nucleotide level, and 84% homology at the predicted amino acid level. The Y. pestis fur gene is transcribed as a single gene message of approximately 0.5 kb which encodes an approximately 16 kDa protein when expressed in E. coli minicells. A Yersinia enterocolitica fur mutant exhibits hypersensitivity to the Y. pestis bacteriocin, pesticin; the cloned Y. pestis fur gene restores wild-type levels of pesticin sensitivity. Furthermore, iron regulation of at least five surface proteins in this Y. enterocolitica fur mutant is restored by transcomplementation with the Y. pestis fur gene. These data indicate that Y. pestis and Y. enterocolitica possess homologous Fur systems which regulate expression of proteins in response to iron availability.

Identification of a Second Human Subtilisin-Like Protease Gene in thefes/fpsRegion of Chromosome 15

A cDNA encoding a novel human subtilisin-like protease was identified by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology. PCR primers were designed to be specific for the subfamily of eukaryotic subtilisin-like proteases with specificity for paried basic amino acid residue processing motifs. The gene encoding this protease, designated PACE4, also encoded a smaller subtilisin-related polypeptide derived by alternate mRNA splicing. The deduced PACE4 protein sequence contained a number of interesting features not present in other family members, including an extended signal peptide region, and a relatively large carboxyl-terminal cysteine-rich region with no obvious membrane anchor sequence. As with the fur gene product, the tissue distribution of PACE4 was widespread, with comparatively higher levels in the liver. An additional relationship to the fur gene product was shown by chromosomal localization studies. The close proximity of the fur and PACE4 genes on chromosome 15 suggests that these genes probably evolved from a common ancestor by gene duplication.

CDNA and Gene Structure for a Human Subtilisin-Like Protease with Cleavage Specificity for Paired Basic Amino Acid Residues

A cDNA encoding the human fur gene product was isolated from a human hepatoma cell line. The cDNA encodes a protein with significant amino acid sequence identity to the prokaryotic subtilisin family of serine proteases. More extensive sequence identity was found when the protein was compared with eukaryotic proteases such as PRB1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and with PC2 and PC3, the only other known mammalian subtilisin-like proteases. In contrast to these proteins, however, the fur gene product shares a more extensive topographic and functional homology with the KEX2 endoprotease of S. cerevisiae. Each protease contains a signal peptide, a glycosylated extra cytoplasmic domain, a hydrophobic membrane-spanning region, and a short, hydrophilic "tail" sequence. As with KEX2, the expressed human protease was shown to cleave mammalian proproteins at their paired basic amino acid processing sites. We have, therefore, proposed the function-based acronym PACE (paired basic amino acid cleaving enzyme) for this prototypic mammalian proprotein processing enzyme.

Human fur gene encodes a yeast KEX2-like endoprotease that cleaves pro-beta-NGF in vivo.

Extracts from BSC-40 cells infected with vaccinia recombinants expressing either the yeast KEX2 prohormone endoprotease or a human structural homologue (fur gene product) contained an elevated level of a membrane-associated endoproteolytic activity that could cleave at pairs of basic amino acids (-LysArg- and -ArgArg-). The fur-directed activity (furin) shared many properties with Kex2p including activity at pH 7.3 and a requirement for calcium. By using antifurin antibodies, immunoblot analysis detected two furin translation products (90 and 96 kD), while immunofluorescence indicated localization to the Golgi apparatus. Coexpression of either Kex2p or furin with the mouse beta-nerve growth factor precursor (pro-beta-NGF) resulted in greatly enhanced conversion of the precursor to mature nerve growth factor. Thus, the sequence homology shared by furin and the yeast KEX2 prohormone processing enzyme is reflected by significant functional homology both in vitro and in vivo.

Furin is a subtilisin-like proprotein processing enzyme in higher eukaryotes

The human fur gene encodes a protein, designated furin, the C-terminal half of which contains a transmembrane and a cysteine-rich receptor-like domain. The N-terminal half of furin exhibits striking primary amino acid sequence similarity to the catalytic domains of members of the subtilisin family of serine proteases. We here report characteristics of the furin protein and propose a three-dimensional model for its presumptive catalytic domain with characteristics, that predict furin to exhibit an endoproteolytic cleavage selectivity at paired basic residues. This prediction is substantiated by transfection and cotransfection experiments, using COS-1 cells. Full length fur cDNA evokes the specific synthesis of two polypeptides of about 100 kDa and 90 kDa as appeared from Western blot analysis of transfected COS-1 cells using a polyclonal anti-furin antiserum. Functional analysis of furin was performed by cotransfection of fur cDNA with cDNA encoding the 'wild type' precursor of von Willebrand factor (pro-vWF) and revealed an increased proteolytic processing of provWF. In contrast, cotransfection of fur cDNA with a recombinant derivative (provWFgly763), having the arginine residue adjacent to the proteolytic cleavage site (arg-ser-lys-arg) replaced by glycine, revealed that provWFgly763 is not processed by the fur gene product. We conclude that in higher eukaryotes, furin is the prototype of a subtilisin-like class of proprotein processing enzymes with substrate specificity for paired basic residues.

Structural homology between the human fur gene product and the subtilisin-like protease encoded by yeast KEX2

Structural homology between the human fur gene product and the subtilisin-like protease encoded by yeast KEX2

Cloning of the repressor protein gene of iron-regulated systems in Escherichia coli K12.

In Escherichia coli the iron uptake systems are regulated by the fur gene product. The synthesis of the outer membrane proteins fiu, fepA, fecA, fhuA, fhuE and cir is derepressed at low iron concentrations in the medium or constitutive in a fur mutant. The fur gene region cloned into pACYC184 was analysed by restriction analysis, Tn1000 mutagenesis and complementation studies. The presence of fur+ plasmids repressed synthesis of the proteins fepA, fecA, fhuE and cir in a chromosomal fur mutant. More quantitatively, the repression to wild-type levels was shown with lac fusions to the genes fiu, fepA and cir. In minicells an 18,000 dalton protein was identified as the fur gene product. Correlated with the fur protein a slightly smaller protein, possibly a degradation product, was observed. The gene fur was mapped on the E. coli chromosome near nagA at about 15.5 min.