Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exopolyphosphatase Is Also a Polyphosphate: ADP Phosphotransferase.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolyphosphatase (paPpx; EC 3.6.1.11) catalyzes the hydrolysis of polyphosphates (polyP), producing polyPn-1 plus inorganic phosphate (Pi). In a recent work we have shown that paPpx is involved in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa. The present study was aimed at performing the biochemical characterization of this enzyme. We found some properties that were already described for E. coli Ppx (ecPpx) but we also discovered new and original characteristics of paPpx: (i) the peptide that connects subdomains II and III is essential for enzyme activity; (ii) NH4 (+) is an activator of the enzyme and may function at concentrations lower than those of K(+); (iii) Zn(2+) is also an activator of paPpx and may substitute Mg(2+) in the catalytic site; and (iv) paPpx also has phosphotransferase activity, dependent on Mg(2+) and capable of producing ATP regardless of the presence or absence of K(+) or NH4 (+) ions. In addition, we detected that the active site responsible for the phosphatase activity is also responsible for the phosphotransferase activity. Through the combination of molecular modeling and docking techniques, we propose a model of the paPpx N-terminal domain in complex with a polyP chain of 7 residues long and a molecule of ADP to explain the phosphotransferase activity.

Exopolyphosphatase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is essential for the production of virulence factors, and its expression is controlled by NtrC and PhoB acting at two interspaced promoters.

The exopolyphosphatase (Ppx) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is encoded by the PA5241 gene (ppx). Ppx catalyses the hydrolysis of inorganic polyphosphates to orthophosphate (Pi). In the present work, we identified and characterized the promoter region of ppx and its regulation under environmental stress conditions. The role of Ppx in the production of several virulence factors was demonstrated through studies performed on a ppx null mutant. We found that ppx is under the control of two interspaced promoters, dually regulated by nitrogen and phosphate limitation. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, its expression was controlled from a σ(54)-dependent promoter activated by the response regulator NtrC. However, under Pi limitation, the expression was controlled from a σ(70) promoter, activated by PhoB. Results obtained from the ppx null mutant demonstrated that Ppx is involved in the production of virulence factors associated with both acute infection (e.g. motility-promoting factors, blue/green pigment production, C6-C12 quorum-sensing homoserine lactones) and chronic infection (e.g. rhamnolipids, biofilm formation). Molecular and physiological approaches used in this study indicated that P. aeruginosa maintains consistently proper levels of Ppx regardless of environmental conditions. The precise control of ppx expression appeared to be essential for the survival of P. aeruginosa and the occurrence of either acute or chronic infection in the host.

Identification, cloning, and expression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa phosphorylcholine phosphatase gene.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa phosphorylcholine phosphatase (PChP) is a periplasmic enzyme produced simultaneously with the hemolytic phospholipase C (PLc-H) when the bacteria are grown in the presence of choline, betaine, dimethylglycine or carnitine. Molecular analysis of the P. aeruginosa mutant JUF8-00, after Tn5-751 mutagenesis, revealed that the PA5292 gene in the P. aeruginosa PAO1 genome was responsible for the synthesis of PChP. The enzyme expressed in E. coli, rPChP-Ec, purified by a chitin-binding column (IMPACT-CN system, New England BioLabs) was homogeneous after SDS-PAGE analysis. PChP was also expressed in P. aeruginosa PAO1-LAC, rPChP-Pa. Both recombinant enzymes exhibited a molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa, as expected for the size of the PA5292 gene, and catalyzed the hydrolysis of phosphorylcholine, phosphorylethanolamine, and p-nitrophenylphosphate. The saturation curve of rPChP-Ec and rPChP-Pa by phosphorylcholine revealed that these recombinant enzymes, like the purified native PChP, also contained the high- and low-affinity sites for phosphorylcholine and that the enzyme activity was inhibited by high substrate concentration.

Cellular signalling in Trypanosoma cruzi: biphasic behaviour of inositol phosphate cycle components evoked by carbachol.

Stimulation of epimastigote forms of Trypanosma cruzi with carbachol resulted in a long-lasting response. The earlier phase for inositol phosphates was rapid and transient, peaking at 1 min with a return to basal levels by 6 min. In a second phase, these metabolite levels reached maximal values at 10-12 min, with a later declination to basal values at about 20 min. The inositol phosphate response was quenched by parasite treatment with atropine. The elevation in intracellular free calcium ([Ca(2+)]i) was transient, reaching the resting level at 87+/-8 s (n=48) of agonist addition. Myo-inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (InsP(3)) production and [Ca(2+)]i mobilisation were carbachol dose-dependent. The maximally effective concentrations of agonist ranged between 1x10(-6) and 1x10(-5) M. The increase in carbachol concentration resulted in an evident attenuation of [Ca(2+)]i mobilisation and in [3H]InsP(3) levels. Pretreatment of the cells with 10 microM U73122, a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor, showed that both InsP(3) peaks triggered by carbachol were completely abolished, whereas there was not substantial change on the maximum elevation in [Ca(2+)]i. The first peak of InsP(3) and InsP(s) was completely abolished when the cells were incubated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate ester (TPA) for 30 min before carbachol stimulation. A biphasic behaviour for PtdIns 4-kinase activity was demonstrated by changes in [32P]PtdInsP levels. The time-course of PtdIns4P 5-kinase activity showed a rapid, significant and transient decrease of [32P]PtdInsP(2) from 0 time to the third min. At the end of this time the polyphosphoinositide began to return towards control levels but, interestingly, after 5-6 min of stimulation there was a subsequent more important increase over control levels which peaked at 10 min. There was also a detectable increment of DAG at 1 min with a maximum at 3 min, this level remaining elevated until at least 10 min. Subsequently, these levels returned to the base line or even below it.