RESUMO
In dealing with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of the deadliest human disease-tuberculosis (TB)-utilization of cholesterol as a carbon source indicates the possibility of using cholesterol catabolic genes/proteins as novel drug targets. However, studies on cholesterol catabolism in mycobacterial species are scarce, and the number of mycobacterial species utilizing cholesterol as a carbon source is unknown. The availability of a large number of mycobacterial species' genomic data affords an opportunity to explore and predict mycobacterial species' ability to utilize cholesterol employing in silico methods. In this study, comprehensive comparative analysis of cholesterol catabolic genes/proteins in 93 mycobacterial species was achieved by deducing a comprehensive cholesterol catabolic pathway, developing a software tool for extracting homologous protein data and using protein structure and functional data. Based on the presence of cholesterol catabolic homologous proteins proven or predicted to be either essential or specifically required for the growth of M. tuberculosis H37Rv on cholesterol, we predict that among 93 mycobacterial species, 51 species will be able to utilize cholesterol as a carbon source. This study's predictions need further experimental validation and the results should be taken as a source of information on cholesterol catabolism and genes/proteins involved in this process among mycobacterial species.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Colesterol/metabolismo , Genes Bacterianos , Mycobacterium/genética , Animais , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Colesterol/química , Genes Essenciais , Macrófagos/metabolismo , Macrófagos/microbiologia , Redes e Vias Metabólicas , Camundongos , Viabilidade Microbiana/genética , Mycobacterium/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Infecções por Mycobacterium/genética , Infecções por Mycobacterium/microbiologia , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Bacteria of the suborder Corynebacterineae include significant human pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae. Drug resistance in mycobacteria is increasingly common making identification of new antimicrobials a priority. Mycobacteria replicate intracellularly, most commonly within the phagosomes of macrophages, and bacterial proteins essential for intracellular survival and persistence are particularly attractive targets for intervention with new generations of anti-mycobacterial drugs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have identified a novel gene that, when inactivated, leads to accelerated death of M. smegmatis within a macrophage cell line in the first eight hours following infection. Complementation of the mutant with an intact copy of the gene restored survival to near wild type levels. Gene disruption did not affect growth compared to wild type M. smegmatis in axenic culture or in the presence of low pH or reactive oxygen intermediates, suggesting the growth defect is not related to increased susceptibility to these stresses. The disrupted gene, MSMEG_5817, is conserved in all mycobacteria for which genome sequence information is available, and designated Rv0807 in M. tuberculosis. Although homology searches suggest that MSMEG_5817 is similar to the serine:pyruvate aminotransferase of Brevibacterium linens suggesting a possible role in glyoxylate metabolism, enzymatic assays comparing activity in wild type and mutant strains demonstrated no differences in the capacity to metabolize glyoxylate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: MSMEG_5817 is a previously uncharacterized gene that facilitates intracellular survival of mycobacteria. Interference with the function of MSMEG_5817 may provide a novel therapeutic approach for control of mycobacterial pathogens by assisting the host immune system in clearance of persistent intracellular bacteria.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Genes Bacterianos/genética , Macrófagos/microbiologia , Viabilidade Microbiana/genética , Mycobacterium smegmatis/citologia , Mycobacterium smegmatis/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular , Elementos de DNA Transponíveis/genética , DNA Intergênico/genética , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica , Rearranjo Gênico/genética , Marcação de Genes , Teste de Complementação Genética , Humanos , Espaço Intracelular/microbiologia , Macrófagos/citologia , Camundongos , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Mutagênese Insercional/genética , Infecções por Mycobacterium não Tuberculosas/microbiologia , Mycobacterium smegmatis/crescimento & desenvolvimento , NF-kappa B/metabolismo , Fagocitose , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Homologia de Sequência de Aminoácidos , Estresse Fisiológico/genéticaRESUMO
As a consequence of reductive genome evolution, the obligate intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium leprae has minimized the repertoire of genes implicated in defense against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Genes for multiple hemoglobin types coexist in mycobacterial genomes, but M. leprae has retained only glbO, encoding a group-II truncated hemoglobin. Mycobacterium tuberculosis GlbO has been involved in oxygen transfer and respiration during hypoxia, but a role in protection from nitric oxide (NO) has not been documented yet. Here, we report that the in vitro reaction of oxygenated recombinant M. leprae GlbO with NO results in an immediate stoichiometric formation of nitrate, concomitant with heme-protein oxidation. Overexpression of GlbO alleviates the growth inhibition of Escherichia colihmp (flavohemoglobin gene) mutants in the presence of NO-donors, partly complementing the defect in Hmp synthesis. A promoter element upstream of glbO was predicted in silico, and confirmed by using a glbO::lacZ transcriptional fusion in the heterologous Mycobacterium smegmatis system. The glbO::lacZ fusion was expressed through the whole growth cycle of M. smegmatis, and moderately induced by NO. We propose that M. leprae, by retaining the unique truncated hemoglobin GlbO, may have coupled O2 delivery to the terminal oxidase with a defensive mechanism to scavenge NO from respiratory enzymes. These activities would help to sustain the obligate aerobic metabolism required for intracellular survival of leprosy bacilli.