Genetic susceptibility to asbestos-related fibrotic pleuropulmonary changes.

The objective of this study was to determine whether genetic polymorphisms in enzymes that metabolise oxidative agents modify the individual susceptibility to developing asbestos and smoking-related pleuropulmonary changes. Nine polymorphisms of six genes (EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTM3, GSTP1, GSTT1 and NAT2) were genotyped from 1,008 Finnish asbestos-exposed workers. The genotype data were compared to signs of lung fibrosis and pleural thickenings, as well as with total lung capacity, single-breath diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (D(L,CO)) and specific diffusing capacity (expressed as D(L,CO) per unit of alveolar volume (V(A))). The GSTT1 deletion polymorphism was associated with fibrotic changes (p=0.003), and decreased D(L,CO) (p=0.02) and D(L,CO)/V(A) (p=0.002), and the GSTM1 deletion polymorphism was associated with the greatest thickness of pleural plaques (p=0.009). On further analysis, the GSTT1 null genotype was found to pose over a three-fold risk for severe fibrotic changes (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.51-6.43), and around two-fold risks for decreased D(L,CO) (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.06-2.95) and D(L,CO)/V(A) (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.33-4.23). In addition, the GSTM1 null genotype showed an elevated risk (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.03-1.80) for thicker pleural plaques. Our data suggest that inherited detoxification capacity may affect the development and severity of asbestos and smoking-related nonmalignant pulmonary changes.

SAP30L interacts with members of the Sin3A corepressor complex and targets Sin3A to the nucleolus.

Histone acetylation plays a key role in the regulation of gene expression. The chromatin structure and accessibility of genes to transcription factors is regulated by enzymes that acetylate and deacetylate histones. The Sin3A corepressor complex recruits histone deacetylases and in many cases represses transcription. Here, we report that SAP30L, a close homolog of Sin3-associated protein 30 (SAP30), interacts with several components of the Sin3A corepressor complex. We show that it binds to the PAH3/HID (Paired Amphipathic Helix 3/Histone deacetylase Interacting Domain) region of mouse Sin3A with residues 120-140 in the C-terminal part of the protein. We provide evidence that SAP30L induces transcriptional repression, possibly via recruitment of Sin3A and histone deacetylases. Finally, we characterize a functional nucleolar localization signal in SAP30L and show that SAP30L and SAP30 are able to target Sin3A to the nucleolus.

The Pla surface protease/adhesin of Yersinia pestis mediates bacterial invasion into human endothelial cells.

The plasminogen activator Pla of Yersinia pestis belongs to the omptin family of enterobacterial surface proteases and is responsible for the highly efficient invasion of the plague bacterium from the subcutaneous infection site into the circulation. Y. pestis has been reported to invade human epithelial cells. Here, we investigated the role of Pla in bacterial invasion into human endothelial cells. Expression of Pla in recombinant Escherichia coli XL1(pMRK1) enhanced bacterial invasion into ECV304 cells. The invasiveness was not affected by substitution mutation at the residues S99 or D206 that are needed for the proteolytic activity of Pla. Pla-expressing bacteria adhered to the extracellular matrix of ECV304 cells. Only weak adhesion and poor invasion were seen with the recombinant E. coli XL1(pMRK2), which expresses the omptin homolog from E. coli. The results identify Pla as an invasion protein of Y. pestis and show that the invasive function does not involve the proteolytic activity of Pla.

Penetration of fimbriate enteric bacteria through basement membranes: a hypothesis.

A mechanism for penetration of basement membranes by Escherichia coli is presented. The mechanism is based on the ability of the S fimbriae of meningitis-associated E. coli to bind to vascular endothelium and choroid plexuses in brain and to basement membranes. On the other hand, the S and the type 1 fimbriae of E. coli immobilize plasminogen and tissue-type plasminogen activator; this process generates proteolytic plasmin activity on the surface of fimbriate cells. Our hypothesis is that bacterium-bound plasma activity, directed to basement membranes through fimbrial binding, promotes bacterial penetration through basement membranes.

Plasminogen receptors. Turning Salmonella and Escherichia coli into proteolytic organisms.

We evaluated in vitro the hypothesis that bacterial adhesiveness to the mammalian extracellular matrix and the activation of plasminogen on bacterial plasminogen receptors promote bacterial penetration through basement membranes. We used the strain SH401 of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, which adheres to the high-mannose chains of laminin, a major glycoprotein of basement membranes, and expresses plasminogen receptors. Bacterium-bound plasmin was able to degrade laminin and extracellular matrix preparations as well as to potentiate the penetration of bacteria through a reconstituted basement membrane. The results suggest that metastatic tumour cells and bacterial pathogens use similar mechanisms to penetrate through tissue barriers.

Bacterial plasminogen receptors: in vitro evidence for a role in degradation of the mammalian extracellular matrix.

The potential of bacterium-bound plasmin to degrade mammalian extracellular matrix and to enhance bacterial penetration through basement membrane was assessed with the adherent strain SH401-1 of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Typhimurium SH401-1 was able to bind plasminogen and to enhance the tissue-type plasminogen activator-mediated activation of the single-chain plasminogen to the two-chain plasmin. The end product, the enzymatically active, bacterium-bound plasmin activity, was also formed in a normal human plasma milieu in the presence of exogenous tissue-type plasminogen activator, indicating that plasmin was protected from the plasminogen activator inhibitors and plasmin inhibitors of plasma. Plasmin bound on Typhimurium cells degraded 125I-labeled laminin as well as 3H-labeled extracellular matrix prepared from the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926. The degradations were not seen with Typhimurium cells without plasminogen and were inhibited by the low-molecular-weight plasmin inhibitor aprotinin. Plasmin bound on Typhimurium cells also potentiated penetration of bacterial cells through the basement membrane preparation Matrigel reconstituted on membrane filters. The results give in vitro evidence for degradation of the mammalian extracellular matrix by bacterium-bound plasmin and for a pathogenetic role for bacterial plasminogen receptors.

Basement membrane carbohydrate as a target for bacterial adhesion: binding of type I fimbriae of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli to laminin.

Adherence of type-1-fimbriate Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli to immobilized proteins of the extracellular matrix and reconstituted basement membranes was studied. The type-1-fimbriate strain SH401 of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis showed good adherence to laminin, whereas the adherence to fibronectin, type I, type III, type IV or type V collagens was poor. Only minimal adherence to the matrix proteins was seen with a non-fimbriate strain of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. A specific and mannoside-inhibitable adhesion to laminin was exhibited by the recombinant E. coli strain HB101(pISF101) possessing fim genes of Typhimurium. Adherence to laminin of strain SH401 was inhibited by Fab fragments against purified SH401 fimbriae, and a specific binding to laminin, of the purified fimbriae, was demonstrated using fimbriae-coated fluorescent microparticles. Periodate treatment of laminin abolished the bacterial adhesion as well as the fimbrial binding. Specific adhesion to immobilized laminin was also shown by the type-1-fimbriate E. coli strain 2131 and the recombinant strain E. coli HB101(pPKL4) expressing the cloned type-1-fimbriae genes of E. coli. Adhesion to laminin of strain HB101(pPKL4) was inhibited by mannoside, and no adherence was seen with the fimH mutant E. coli HB101(pPKL5/pPKL53) lacking the fimbrial lectin subunit. The type-1 fimbriate strains also adhered to reconstituted basement membranes from mouse sarcoma cells and human placenta. Adhesion of strains HB101(pISF101) and HB101(pPKL4) to both basement membrane preparations was inhibited by mannoside. We conclude that type-1 fimbriae of S. enterica and E. coli bind to oligomannoside chains of the laminin network in basement membranes.

Protein regions important for plasminogen activation and inactivation of alpha2-antiplasmin in the surface protease Pla of Yersinia pestis.

The plasminogen activator, surface protease Pla, of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis is an important virulence factor that enables the spread of Y. pestis from subcutaneous sites into circulation. Pla-expressing Y. pestis and recombinant Escherichia coli formed active plasmin in the presence of the major human plasmin inhibitor, alpha2-antiplasmin, and the bacteria were found to inactivate alpha2-antiplasmin. In contrast, only poor plasminogen activation and no cleavage of alpha2-antiplasmin was observed with recombinant bacteria expressing the homologous gene ompT from E. coli. A beta-barrel topology model for Pla and OmpT predicted 10 transmembrane beta-strands and five surface-exposed loops L1-L5. Hybrid Pla-OmpT proteins were created by substituting each of the loops between Pla and OmpT. Analysis of the hybrid molecules suggested a critical role of L3 and L4 in the substrate specificity of Pla towards plasminogen and alpha2-antiplasmin. Substitution analysis at 25 surface-located residues showed the importance of the conserved residues H101, H208, D84, D86, D206 and S99 for the proteolytic activity of Pla-expressing recombinant E. coli. The mature alpha-Pla of 292 amino acids was processed into beta-Pla by an autoprocessing cleavage at residue K262, and residues important for the self-recognition of Pla were identified. Prevention of autoprocessing of Pla, however, had no detectable effect on plasminogen activation or cleavage of alpha2-antiplasmin. Cleavage of alpha2-antiplasmin and plasminogen activation were influenced by residue R211 in L4 as well as by unidentified residues in L3. OmpT, which is not associated with invasive bacterial disease, was converted into a Pla-like protease by deleting residues D214 and P215, by substituting residue K217 for R217 in L4 of OmpT and also by substituting the entire L3 with that from Pla. This simple modification of the surface loops and the substrate specificity of OmpT exemplifies the evolution of a housekeeping protein into a virulence factor by subtle mutations at critical protein regions. We propose that inactivation of alpha2-antiplasmin by Pla of Y. pestis promotes uncontrolled proteolysis and contributes to the invasive character of plague.

Identification of two laminin-binding fimbriae, the type 1 fimbria of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium and the G fimbria of Escherichia coli, as plasminogen receptors.

Escherichia coli strains carrying recombinant plasmids encoding either the type 1 fimbria of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium or the G fimbria of E. coli exhibited binding of human 125I-Glu-plasminogen and enhanced the tissue-type plasminogen activator-catalyzed conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. Purified type 1 or G fimbriae similarly bound plasminogen and enhanced its activation. The binding of plasminogen did not involve the characteristic carbohydrate-binding property of the fimbriae but was inhibited at low concentrations by the lysine analog epsilon-aminocaproic acid. Because these fimbrial types bind to laminin of basement membranes (M. Kukkonen et al., Mol. Microbiol. 7:229-237, 1993; S. Saarela et al., Infect. Immun. 64:2857-2860, 1996), the results demonstrate a structural unity in the creation and targeting of bacterium-bound proteolytic plasmin activity to basement membranes.

Ultrastructure of a Bacillus sp. strain KL8 isolated from indoor dust.

A motile Gram-positive bacterial strain (KL8) was isolated from indoor dust. It was identified by API-test50 CHB as a species of Bacillus. This Bacillus sp. strain KL8 was described using different electron microscopic techniques: negative staining, thin sectioning, metal shadowing and freeze-etching. An additional surface layer (S-layer) was the outermost layer of the cell wall of this flagellated bacterium. The hexagonally arranged protein lattice covering the cells had a lattice constant about 9-10 nm, which falls in the same range as that of Bacillus anthracis.