The heparin-binding hemagglutinin protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a nucleoid-associated protein.

Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) regulate multiple cellular processes such as gene expression, virulence, and dormancy throughout bacterial species. NAPs help in the survival and adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) within the host. Fourteen NAPs have been identified in Escherichia coli; however, only seven NAPs are documented in Mtb. Given its complex lifestyle, it is reasonable to assume that Mtb would encode for more NAPs. Using bioinformatics tools and biochemical experiments, we have identified the heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HbhA) protein of Mtb as a novel sequence-independent DNA-binding protein which has previously been characterized as an adhesion molecule required for extrapulmonary dissemination. Deleting the carboxy-terminal domain of HbhA resulted in a complete loss of its DNA-binding activity. Atomic force microscopy showed HbhA-mediated architectural modulations in the DNA, which may play a regulatory role in transcription and genome organization. Our results showed that HbhA colocalizes with the nucleoid region of Mtb. Transcriptomics analyses of a hbhA KO strain revealed that it regulates the expression of ∼36% of total and ∼29% of essential genes. Deletion of hbhA resulted in the upregulation of ∼73% of all differentially expressed genes, belonging to multiple pathways suggesting it to be a global repressor. The results show that HbhA is a nonessential NAP regulating gene expression globally and acting as a plausible transcriptional repressor.

Septin localization and function during autophagy.

Autophagy is a vital conserved recycling process where eukaryotic cells remove unwanted proteins and organelles via lysosomal degradation and in turn, generate nutrients for the cells. The special feature of autophagy process is the formation of double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes that engulf cellular cargo and deliver them to the vacuole or lysosomes for degradation. Inspite of more than 40 AuTophaGy (ATG) proteins and several organelles as known membrane source, autophagosome biogenesis is not entirely understood. We recently have discovered that septins contribute to autophagosome biogenesis. Septins are GTP-binding proteins, usually localized at the bud neck region and are involved in cytokinesis. Here, we show that during autophagy prevalent conditions, septins traffic between different cellular compartments such as Golgi, mitochondria, endosomes, plasma membrane, and vacuolar membranes.

GWAS and functional studies suggest a role for altered DNA repair in the evolution of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is alarming and demands in-depth knowledge for timely diagnosis. We performed genome-wide association analysis using 2237 clinical strains of Mtb to identify novel genetic factors that evoke drug resistance. In addition to the known direct targets, we identified for the first time, a strong association between mutations in DNA repair genes and the multidrug-resistant phenotype. To evaluate the impact of variants identified in the clinical samples in the evolution of drug resistance, we utilized knockouts and complemented strains in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mtb. Results show that variant mutations compromised the functions of MutY and UvrB. MutY variant showed enhanced survival compared with wild-type (Rv) when the Mtb strains were subjected to multiple rounds of ex vivo antibiotic stress. In an in vivo guinea pig infection model, the MutY variant outcompeted the wild-type strain. We show that novel variant mutations in the DNA repair genes collectively compromise their functions and contribute to better survival under antibiotic/host stress conditions.

The PPE2 protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is secreted during infection and facilitates mycobacterial survival inside the host.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis secrets various effector proteins to evade host immune responses for facilitating its intracellular survival. The bacterial genome encodes several unique PE/PPE family proteins, which have been implicated to play important role in mycobacterial pathogenesis. A member of this family, PPE2 have been shown to contain a monopartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a DNA binding domain. In this study, we demonstrate that PPE2 protein is present in the sera of mice infected with either M. smegmatis expressing PPE2 or a clinical strain of M. tuberculosis (CDC1551). It was found that exogenously added PPE2 can permeate through the macrophage cell membrane and eventually translocate into the nucleus which requires the presence of NLS which showed considerable homology to HIV-tat like cell permeable peptides. Exogenously added PPE2 could inhibit NO production and decreased mycobacterial survival in macrophages. PPE2-null mutant of M. tuberculosis failed to inhibit NO production and had poor survival in macrophages which could be rescued by complementation with full-length PPE2. PPE2-null mutants also had poor survival in the lungs of infected mice indicating that PPE2 even when present in the bloodstream can confer a survival advantage to mycobacteria.

Phosphorylation of CFP10 modulates Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence.

IMPORTANCE: Secreted virulence factors play a critical role in bacterial pathogenesis. Virulence effectors not only help bacteria to overcome the host immune system but also aid in establishing infection. Mtb, which causes tuberculosis in humans, encodes various virulence effectors. Triggers that modulate the secretion of virulence effectors in Mtb are yet to be fully understood. To gain mechanistic insight into the secretion of virulence effectors, we performed high-throughput proteomic studies. With the help of system-level protein-protein interaction network analysis and empirical validations, we unravelled a link between phosphorylation and secretion. Taking the example of the well-known virulence factor of CFP10, we show that the dynamics of CFP10 phosphorylation strongly influenced bacterial virulence and survival ex vivo and in vivo. This study presents the role of phosphorylation in modulating the secretion of virulence factors.