Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:O75191 (H. influenzae)
 4,961 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) secretes at least five proteins. Two of these proteins, EspA and EspB (previously called EaeB), activate signal transduction pathways in host epithelial cells. While the role of the other three proteins (39, 40, and 110 kDa) remains undetermined, secretion of all five proteins is under the control of perA, a known positive regulator of several EPEC virulence factors. On the basis of amino-terminal protein sequence data, we cloned and sequenced the gene which encodes the 110-kDa secreted protein and examined its possible role in EPEC signaling and interaction with epithelial cells. In accordance with the terminology used for espA and espB, we called this gene espC, for EPEC-secreted protein C. We found significant homology between the predicted EspC protein sequence and a family of immunoglobulin A (IgA) protease-like proteins which are widespread among pathogenic bacteria. Members of this protein family are found in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (Tsh), Haemophilus influenzae (Hap), and Shigella flexneri (SepA). Although these proteins and EspC do not encode IgA protease activity, they have considerable homology with IgA protease from Neisseria gonorrhoeae and H. influenzae and appear to use a export system for secretion. We found that genes homologous to espC also exist in other pathogenic bacteria which cause attaching and effacing lesions, including Hafnia alvei biotype 19982, Citrobacter freundii biotype 4280, and rabbit diarrheagenic E. coli (RDEC-1). Although these strains secrete various proteins similar in molecular size to the proteins secreted by EPEC, we did not detect secretion of a 110-kDa protein by these strains. To examine the possible role of EspC in EPEC interactions with epithelial cells, we constructed a deletion mutant in espC by allelic exchange and characterized the mutant by standard tissue culture assays. We found that EspC is not necessary for mediating EPEC-induced signal transduction in HeLa epithelial cells and does not play a role in adherence or invasion of tissue culture cells.
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PMID:Characterization of EspC, a 110-kilodalton protein secreted by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli which is homologous to members of the immunoglobulin A protease-like family of secreted proteins. 893 11

Morphogenesis protein C (MorC) of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is important for maintaining the membrane morphology and integrity of the cell envelope of this oral pathogen. The MorC sequence and operon organization were found to be conserved in Gammaproteobacteria, based on a bioinformatic analysis of 435 sequences from representative organisms. Functional conservation of MorC was investigated using an A. actinomycetemcomitans morC mutant as a model system to express MorC homologs from four phylogenetically diverse representatives of the Gammaproteobacteria: Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Moraxella catarrhalis. The A. actinomycetemcomitans strains expressing the homologous proteins were assessed for sensitivity to bile salts, leukotoxin secretion, autoaggregation and membrane morphology. MorC from the most closely related organism (H. influenzae) was functionally identical to MorC from A. actinomycetemcomitans. However, the genes from more distantly related organisms restored some but not all A. actinomycetemcomitans mutant phenotypes. In addition, deletion mutagenesis indicated that the most conserved portion of the protein, the C-terminus DUF490 domain, was necessary to maintain the integrity of the membrane. Deletion of the last 10 amino acids of this domain of the A. actinomycetemcomitans MorC protein was sufficient to disrupt membrane stability and leukotoxin secretion. The data suggest that the MorC sequence is functionally conserved across Gammaproteobacteria and the C-terminus of the protein is essential for maintaining membrane physiology.
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PMID:The conserved carboxyl domain of MorC, an inner membrane protein of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, is essential for membrane function. 2620 76