|








| |
Journal of Bacteriology, June 2004, p . 3760-3765, Vol . 186,
No . 12
Membrane Restructuring by Bordetella pertussis Adenylate Cyclase Toxin, a
Member of the RTX Toxin Family
César Martín,1,
M.-Asunción Requero,1,
Jiri Masin,2,3 Ivo Konopasek,2,3 Félix M . Goñi,1
Peter Sebo,2 and Helena Ostolaza1*
Unidad de Biofísica (Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU), Departamento de Bioquímica,
Universidad del País Vasco, 48080 Bilbao, Spain,1 Institute of
Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences,2 Faculty of Sciences,
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic3
Received 30 December 2003/ Accepted 2 March 2004
Adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) is secreted by Bordetella pertussis,
the bacterium causing whooping cough . ACT is a member of the
RTX (repeats in toxin) family of toxins, and like other members in
the family, it may bind cell membranes and cause disruption of the
permeability barrier, leading to efflux of cell contents . The present
paper summarizes studies performed on cell and model membranes with
the aim of understanding the mechanism of toxin insertion and
membrane restructuring leading to release of contents . ACT does not
necessarily require a protein receptor to bind the membrane bilayer,
and this may explain its broad range of host cell types . In fact, red
blood cells and liposomes (large unilamellar vesicles) display
similar sensitivities to ACT . A varying liposomal bilayer composition
leads to significant changes in ACT-induced membrane lysis, measured
as efflux of fluorescent vesicle contents . Phosphatidylethanolamine
(PE), a lipid that favors formation of nonlamellar (inverted
hexagonal) phases, stimulated ACT-promoted efflux . Conversely,
lysophosphatidylcholine, a micelle-forming lipid that opposes the
formation of inverted nonlamellar phases, inhibited ACT-induced
efflux in a dose-dependent manner and neutralized the stimulatory
effect of PE . These results strongly suggest that ACT-induced efflux
is mediated by transient inverted nonlamellar lipid structures .
Cholesterol, a lipid that favors inverted nonlamellar phase formation
and also increases the static order of phospholipid hydrocarbon
chains, among other effects, also enhanced ACT-induced liposomal
efflux . Moreover, the use of a recently developed fluorescence assay
technique allowed the detection of trans-bilayer (flip-flop) lipid
motion simultaneous with efflux . Lipid flip-flop further confirms the
formation of transient nonlamellar lipid structures as a result
of ACT insertion in bilayers .
Adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) is secreted by Bordetella pertussis,
the bacterium responsible for whooping cough . The 1,706-residue
protein can enter eukaryotic cells, where, upon activation by
endogenous calmodulin, it increases the intracellular levels of
cyclic AMP, leading to severe alterations in cellular physiology,
often referred to as intoxication (see reference 28 for a
review) . ACT belongs to the so-called RTX (repeats in toxin) family
of proteins, characterized by a Ca2+-binding nonapeptide
repeated in tandem several times, up to 30 to 38 repeats in the case
of ACT, depending on the stringency of repeat definition . This
toxin represents the most evolutionarily divergent example of the
family (for reviews of RTX proteins, see references 40 and
41) . Unlike most other members of the family, ACT
remains associated with the bacterial surface after secretion,
apparently associated with filamentous hemagglutinin (42) .
In common with other members of the RTX family, and apart from its
unique adenylate cyclase activity, ACT has a capacity to induce cell
lysis, usually demonstrated as hemolysis . ACT-induced hemolysis
requires higher toxin concentrations (by more than 1 order of
magnitude) and occurs more slowly than intoxication (17) .
Active ACT is acylated at two positions inside the chain, and the
acylation pattern appears to affect hemolysis, rather than
intoxication (19) . Moreover, dose-response experiments
suggest that intoxication can be triggered by ACT monomers,
while hemolysis is a more cooperative event, mediated by at least
trimers (5, 17, 32) .
These and other observations have led to the conclusion that
hemolysis and intoxication occur through separate mechanisms (17,
28, 32, 34) .
Unlike intoxication, ACT-induced cell lysis has received relatively
little attention . Benz et al . (4) and Szabo et al . (39),
using planar lipid bilayers, demonstrated that ACT increased membrane
conductance, giving rise to small, transient, cation-selective
channels . These authors also found that ACT was less active in this
respect than
-hemolysin
(HlyA), another member of the RTX family, secreted by Escherichia
coli (4) . In general, the mechanism of
HlyA-induced hemolysis has been studied in more detail (see
references 16 and 40 for reviews) . In
particular, studies in one of our laboratories have examined the
capacity of HlyA to destroy the permeability barrier of pure-lipid
vesicles (liposomes) . HlyA was found to cause efflux of
high-molecular-weight dextrans from liposomes under isotonic
conditions (33) . A mechanism of action was
proposed according to which the toxin would be inserted into the
membrane outer monolayer, thereby increasing lateral tension as more
monomers were cooperatively incorporated, until membrane collapse and
reorganization ensued (37, 40) .
Here we describe our analysis of ACT-induced cell lysis, which
combined studies with red blood cells and liposomes (large unilamellar
vesicles [LUV]) . Recombinant ACT, expressed in E . coli, was
used . There are some indications that the palmitoylation pattern
is not the same in the native and recombinant proteins (19,
36), although the practical consequences of such a
difference are a matter of debate (3) but are
unlikely to influence the main conclusions of our work . Our results
suggest that red blood cells do not contain specific receptors for
ACT . Moreover, a detailed analysis of the effect of the lipid
composition on ACT-induced efflux of liposomal contents demonstrates
that bilayer disruption is facilitated by the presence of lipids that
favor inverted nonlamellar phase formation . Finally, we show that
ACT-induced membrane lysis is accompanied by trans-bilayer lipid
motion ("lipid scrambling") .
Materials. Egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) and egg
phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were from Lipid Products (South
Nutfield, United Kingdom) . Dielaidoyl PE, dioleoyl PE, lyso PC,
cholesterol (Ch), and PE transphosphatidylated from egg PC were
supplied by Avanti Polar Lipids (Alabaster, Ala.) . ANTS
(8-aminonaphthalene-1,2,3-trisulfonic acid) and DPX [p-xylene-bis(pyridinium
bromine)] were from Molecular Probes (Eugene, Oreg.) . Horse red blood
cells were supplied by Biomedics (Alcobendas, Spain) . Human red blood
cells came from a local blood bank . Tetramethyl rhodamine-conjugated
goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG) was from Molecular Probes .
ACT expression and purification. E . coli K-12
strain XL1-blue (Stratagene) transformed with the pT7CACT1 plasmid (31)
was used for expression of ACT . Exponential 500-ml cultures were
induced with 1 mM isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside
(IPTG) for 3 h, during which time the culture optical density (A500)
increased from ca . 0.5 to 1.5 . The extracts of insoluble cell debris
after sonication were prepared in 8 M urea-50 mM Tris-HCl (pH
8.0)-0.2 mM CaCl2 as described previously (36)
The protein was further purified by ion-exchange chromatography
on DEAE-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech)
as previously described by Karimova et al . (27) . In the final
step, the protein was eluted with 8 M urea-50 mM Tris-HCl (pH
8.0) and stored at –20°C .
Hemolysis assays. A red blood cell suspension was used that
was obtained by diluting the erythrocytes with saline so that 37.5 µl
of the mixture in 3 ml of distilled water gave an A412
of 0.6 . The hemolysis assay was performed in 1-ml test tubes by
mixing the erythrocyte suspension with the desired amounts of ACT in
buffer (150 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0) .
The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 2 h with gentle shaking and
then centrifuged in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 1 min . The A412
of the supernatants, appropriately diluted with distilled water, was
read . The blank (zero hemolysis) consisted of a mixture of
appropriate volumes of buffer and erythrocytes .
LUV. Lipids in organic solution were mixed in the
appropriate proportions, and the solvent was thoroughly evaporated .
The resulting dry lipid film was hydrated in buffer, with gentle
shaking, to form multilamellar vesicles . These were treated with 10
cycles of freezing and thawing, followed by 10 cycles of extrusion
through polycarbonate filters (pore size, 0.1 µm; Nuclepore,
Pleasanton, Calif.) . The buffer used contained 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM
CaCl2, and 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), unless otherwise
stated . The diameter of the resulting LUV was ca . 100 nm, according
to quasielastic light scattering measurements . More details about the
preparation of these vesicles can be found in reference
30 .
Efflux of liposomal contents. Leakage of vesicular aqueous
contents was assayed with ANTS and DPX trapped in the liposomes . ANTS
is a water-soluble fluorophore . DPX is also water soluble; it forms
complexes with ANTS and quenches the fluorescence of the latter . When
both ANTS and DPX are trapped in a vesicle, they exist in the form of
a nonfluorescent complex . When vesicle efflux occurs, ANTS and DPX
become highly diluted, the complex dissociates, and free ANTS emits
fluorescence . LUV were prepared in 70 mM NaCl-10 mM CaCl2-12.5
mM ANTS-45 mM DPX-20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) . This buffer is isotonic
with 150 mM NaCl-20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), which was used as an
external elution buffer . Nontrapped probes were removed by passing
the LUV through a Sephadex G-75 column eluted with 150 mM NaCl-10
mM CaCl2-20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) . Assays were performed with
100 µM lipid in a total volume of 1 ml . Lipid phosphorus was
assayed as described by Bartlett (2) . The assay was started
by adding the required amount of ACT . Measurements were monitored
in a Perkin-Elmer LS50 spectrofluorimeter at 37°C with a
continuously stirred cuvette . ANTS fluorescence was recorded
continuously (excitation wavelength, 355 nm; emission wavelength, 520
nm; slits, 5 and 5 nm) . Triton X-100 was added (final concentration,
0.1% [wt/vol]) to induce 100% release . Percent release was computed
as follows: % release = [(Ff – F0)/(F100
– F0)] x 100,
where Ff, F100, and F0
were the respective fluorescence intensities observed after addition
of ACT, after addition of Triton X-100, and before any addition .
Trans-bilayer lipid movement. The trans-bilayer lipid
movement assay is based on the phenomenon of fluorescence resonance
energy transfer (FRET) . When two different fluorophores are in very
close proximity, such that the emission spectrum of the first one
overlaps the excitation spectrum of the second one, it is possible to
excite the fluorescence of the first one (donor) and record the
fluorescence emitted by the second one (acceptor) . In the present
case, the donor and acceptor are, respectively,
7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl (NBD) and rhodamine . NBD is bound
to a phospholipid initially located only in the inner monolayer of
the membrane, and rhodamine is bound to a large protein (antibody)
located outside the vesicle, so that at time zero no energy transfer
can occur . However, when trans-bilayer lipid motion occurs, some of
the NBD-lipid is transferred to the outer monolayer and can interact
with the external, protein-bound rhodamine . To prepare LUV labeled
in the inside bilayer with NBD-PE, PC-PE-Ch (2:1:1) LUV containing
0.6 mol% NBD-PE (about 1 NBD-PE molecule in 170 nonfluorescent
lipid molecules) were treated with membrane impermeant sodium
dithionite (10 mM) . The excess dithionite was removed by gel
filtration through a Sephadex G-75 column . These NBD-PE-containing
liposomes (0.1 mM final concentration) were incubated with the toxin
(10 µg) under constant stirring . At different times, small aliquots
of the suspension were removed and incubated with rhodamine
conjugated to an antibody that was also membrane impermeant .
Measurements were monitored in a Perkin-Elmer LS50 spectrofluorimeter
at room temperature with a continuously stirred cuvette . Excitation
was set at 460 nm, and emission was recorded between 510 and 640 nm,
with slits of 5 nm for both monochromators . A cutoff filter (515 nm)
was used to prevent contribution from scattered light . For more
details, see reference 7 . In control experiments,
heat-denatured ACT was used, which was obtained by heating the toxin
in a boiling water bath for 5 min .
Membrane lysis and solute efflux. RTX toxins usually possess
the capacity to break down the permeability barrier of cell
membranes . The membrane-lytic ability of ACT was tested on red blood
cells and on liposomes (LUV) containing entrapped fluorescent probes
(ANTS and DPX) . ACT caused lysis of erythrocytes and release of
entrapped dyes from liposomes . A representative experiment of
ACT-induced ANTS and DPX release from liposomes is shown in Fig.
1A . The detergent Triton X-100 was added to mark
100% release . Dose-response curves of both hemolysis and liposome
efflux are shown in Fig . 1B . Under the experimental
conditions used, data for hemolysis and liposomal efflux above 30 nM
ACT were virtually superimposable;
150
nM ACT caused the maximum effect in both cases . At lower ACT
concentrations, LUV appear to be more sensitive than red blood cells .
Experiments carried out with human erythrocytes revealed an ACT
dose-response curve similar to that of horse cells (data not shown) .
In similar studies with another member of the RTX family,
-hemolysin
from E . coli, Cortajarena et al . (9)
found that red blood cells were always much more sensitive than
liposomes to the toxin, and this observation led to the discovery
that the erythrocyte membrane integral protein glycophorin acts as a
receptor for
-hemolysin .
The data in Fig . 1B suggest that red blood cells contain
no specific receptor for ACT . This notion was supported by an
experiment in which red blood cells were treated with trypsin under
conditions in which this protease cleaves the extramembranous part of
glycophorin and of other membrane proteins . Hemolysis caused by ACT
was the same in control and trypsin-treated erythrocytes (Fig.
1B, inset) .
|
FIG . 1 . ACT-induced model and cell membrane lysis . (A) Time course of
ANTS and DPX efflux from LUV composed of PC-PE-Ch (2:1:1 molar ratio) in
the presence of ACT . Lipid concentration, 0.1 mM; toxin concentration,
30 nM . a.u., arbitrary units . (B) Dose-response curves of ACT-induced ( )
red blood cell hemolysis and (•) LUV ANTS and DPX efflux . Percent efflux
from LUV was measured after 25 min in plots as shown in panel A . Average
values ± the standard error of the mean (n = 4) are shown.
|
|
Role of nonlamellar lipids. Liposomal assay of ACT activity is
a convenient way of studying the influence of membrane lipid
composition . Previous experiments with the related toxin
-hemolysin
from E . coli (33) had suggested that
the lytic effect of that protein was favored by those lipids that
tend to facilitate the formation of nonlamellar, inverted phases
(lipids favoring negative curvature or type II lipids) (12,
20, 22) . ACT-induced liposomal efflux was
studied in this context . Figure 2 shows some
representative results of experiments in which release of contents
from liposomes with various lipid compositions was induced by the
same amounts of ACT . Pure-PC liposomes released
40%
of their aqueous contents in 30 min, but when PC-PE (2:1 molar ratio)
liposomes were used, 80% efflux was observed . PE is well known for
its ability to induce negative curvature and eventually form
non-bilayer (mostly hexagonal II) phases (13,
25) . The effect of PE was compensated by lyso PC,
a lipid whose geometry is the opposite of that of PE (22) .
Lyso PC induces a positive curvature in the monolayers where it
is located and counters the lamellar-to-hexagonal II transition . As
shown in Fig . 2, lyso PC neutralized the effect of PE when
both lipids were present in the bilayer, so that ACT-induced
efflux from liposomes containing PC-PE-lyso PC (2:1:1 molar ratio)
was the same as with pure-PC vesicles . Efflux in the absence of ACT
remained at the noise level, i.e., below 3%, after 30 min
irrespective of the bilayer composition (data not shown) .
|
FIG . 2 . Effect of nonlamellar lipids on ACT-induced liposomal efflux .
Time course of LUV lysis induced by 50 nM ACT . The total lipid
concentration was 0.1 mM . The LUV composition was either pure egg PC,
PC-PE (2:1 molar ratio), or PC-PE-lyso PC (2:1:1 molar ratio).
|
|
The correlation between the lipid propensity to form a non-bilayer
phase and the ability of ACT to break the membrane permeability
barrier is also supported by the experiment described in Fig .
3, in which different molecular species of PE were added to
a bilayer originally composed of pure egg PC, at a final PC-PE
molar ratio of 2:1 . Three different PEs were used, namely, dioleoyl
PE, whose Th (lamellar-to-hexagonal phase transition
temperature) is 8°C; egg PE (19% C16:0, 24% C18:0,
21% C18:1, 14% C18:2, 14% C20:4, 8%
other), whose Th is 25 to 35°C; and a transphosphatidylated
form of egg PE (33% C16:0, 11% C18:0, 31% C18:1,
16% C18:2, 9% other), whose Th is 40 to
55°C . As shown in Fig . 3, ACT-induced efflux is
larger the lower the Th of PE, i.e., the greater the
tendency of PE to form an inverted hexagonal phase . In all of
the experiments in Fig . 2 and 3, the total
lipid and ACT concentrations were kept constant at 0.1 and 50 nM,
respectively .
|
FIG . 3 . Relationship between the Ths of various PEs
and ACT-induced lysis of LUV . LUV (total lipid concentration, 0.1 mM)
were composed of egg PC to which different PEs were added to a final
PC-PE molar ratio of 2:1 . The PE was either synthetic dioleoyl PE
(DOPE), natural egg PE, or PE transphosphatidylated from egg PC [egg
(t)] . The Th of each PE is given at the top of the
corresponding bar . LUV lysis was induced in all cases by addition of 50
nM ACT . Average values ± the standard error of the mean (n = 3)
are shown . *** indicates P < 0.001 in Student's t test.
|
|
The inhibitory effect of lyso PC on ACT-induced lysis was further
explored by using 100% PC liposomes that contained increasing
proportions of lyso PC . As shown in Fig . 4, lyso PC inhibition
was a dose-dependent phenomenon that became significant beyond
10 mol% in the PC bilayer . This confirms the observations described
in Fig . 2 .
|
FIG . 4 . Effect of lyso PC on ACT-induced liposomal efflux . LUV lysis was
induced by 10 µg of ACT . The total lipid concentration (originally 100%
PC) was kept constant at 100 µM, with various proportions of lyso PC .
Average values ± the standard error of the mean (n = 4) are
shown . Student's t test: *, P < 0.05; **, P <
0.025.
|
|
Ch displays a variety of effects when added to phospholipid bilayers .
Ch facilitates the lamellar-to-nonlamellar transition (10,
25) and increases the molecular order of the phospholipid
acyl chains (23), among other properties . In our
system, Ch greatly enhanced the rate of ACT-induced liposomal efflux
in a dose-dependent manner, and the effect became significant above
20 mol% in PC bilayers (Fig . 5) .
|
FIG . 5 . Effect of Ch on ACT-induced liposomal efflux . LUV lysis was
induced by 10 µg of ACT . The total lipid concentration (originally 100%
PC) was kept constant at 100 µM, with various proportions of Ch . Average
values ± the standard error of the mean (n = 4) are shown .
Student's t test: *, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001.
|
|
Trans-bilayer lipid movement. The above results appear to
indicate that ACT insertion and/or membrane permeabilization may be
accompanied by transient formation of nonlamellar structures in the
membrane . In turn, such nonlamellar intermediates would explain the
observed solute efflux . If they are indeed formed, those transient
nonlamellar structures would lead to some degree of trans-bilayer
lipid movement (flip-flop or lipid scrambling [6]) .
In order to test this possibility, we applied an assay recently
developed in our laboratory (7) . In this assay, LUV
initially containing 0.6 mol% NBD-PE homogeneously distributed
throughout the bilayer are treated with membrane-impermeant sodium
dithionite . This reagent reduces the number of NBD molecules located
in the outer monolayer and irreversibly quenches their fluorescence
so that fluorescent NBD-PE is now located only in the inner
monolayer . These liposomes are incubated with the toxin, and at
different time intervals aliquots of the suspension are incubated
with rhodamine conjugated to an antibody that is also membrane
impermeant . NBD and rhodamine can undergo FRET when in close contact .
Under our conditions, FRET will only occur if NBD-PE is transferred
from the inner to the outer monolayer, so that it can contact the
IgG-rhodamine in the outer solution . In principle, the system is
stable for hours, with no FRET being detected . However, in the
presence of ACT, FRET occurs (Fig . 6), the
intensity of NBD fluorescence decreases and that of rhodamine
increases simultaneously, and the phenomenon occurs in the time scale
of liposomal efflux (Fig . 1A and 4) . The
effect is specific for active ACT . Heat-denatured toxin does not
induce FRET (Fig . 6B, open symbols) . The effect
could not be explained by IgG-rhodamine gaining access to the
interior of the vesicles, because ACT did not allow passage of
fluorescein-derivatized dextrans with molecular masses of >4 kDa,
while IgG has a molecular mass of
150
kDa (M.-A . Requero, unpublished data) .
|
FIG . 6 . Trans-bilayer lipid movement induced by ACT . Initially, NBD-PE
is only at the inner monolayer of LUV . Rhodamine (conjugated to an
antibody) is always outside the vesicle . FRET between NBD (donor) and
rhodamine (acceptor) occurs when NBD-PE flops to the outside monolayer .
Energy transfer is detected as a decrease in NBD and an increase in
rhodamine fluorescence emission intensity (If) when only the
fluorescence of NBD is being excited . (A) Emission spectra of rhodamine
and NBD-PE at various times after addition of ACT . (B) Time course of
changes in fluorescence intensity of NBD and rhodamine . Symbols:
and
,
changes in NBD fluorescence;
and
,
changes in rhodamine fluorescence; filled symbols, active ACT; empty
symbols, heat-denatured ACT; • and
,
NBD and rhodamine fluorescence, respectively, after 100% lipid
scrambling induced by 2 mM Triton X-100 . LUV concentration, 0.1 mM .
NBD-PE was 0.6 mol% of the total lipid . ACT was added at 50 nM . Average
values ± the standard error of the mean (n = 3) are shown . A.U.,
arbitrary units.
|
|
ACT has in common with the other members of the RTX family a capacity
to disrupt the permeability barrier of model and cell membranes,
leading to efflux of vesicle or cell contents . This process is often
referred to as cell lysis . It appears to be the endpoint of a complex
series of events . In order to gain information on ACT-induced
membrane lysis, the above results will be examined in the light of
data obtained with other RTX toxins, or eventually other proteins .
Several RTX toxins bind specific receptors in the target cells:
E . coli HlyA, A . actinomycetemcomitans LtxA, and
P . haemolytica LktA bind a ß2 integrin in leukocytes (26,
29), and HlyA also binds glycophorin in red blood
cells (8, 9) . ACT binds the human
myeloid phagocytic cells, which are its natural targets, via the
CD11b/CD18 receptor (18) .
However, ACT is rather promiscuous and can penetrate, intoxicate,
and eventually lyse, with some efficiency, a variety of cell types
from different hosts (40) . This speaks against an absolute
requirement for specific cellular receptors, and our results in
Fig . 1 support the lack of a receptor in erythrocytes . Thus,
ACT interaction with the membrane lipid bilayer appears to be
the first step in ACT-induced cell intoxication and lysis . Note that
the latter are two very different effects and that lysis requires
higher toxin concentrations than intoxication (17) .
Lysis may constitute a further, more severe form of cell damage
occurring in B . pertussis infection . In the present work, the
mechanism of cell lysis is specifically addressed .
Once the toxin has reached the lipid bilayer, interaction with the
hydrophobic matrix would occur . Toxin insertion into the membrane,
which would be accompanied by a change in protein conformation and by
changes in bilayer architecture leading to release of cell contents,
is certainly the least understood process in RTX-dependent cell
lysis . Our results shed light on two little-known aspects of this
obscure stage of ACT-membrane interaction, namely, the involvement of
non-bilayer lipid intermediates (Fig . 2 to
5) and the toxin-induced flip-flop lipid movement
(Fig . 6) . The facts that (i) lipids inducing negative
curvature (PE and Ch), i.e., favoring inverted nonlamellar phases (15,
20, 22), increase the ACT lytic
effect (Fig . 2 to 4) and (ii)
lyso PC, a lipid inducing positive curvature, counteracts the effect
of PE (Fig . 2) and reduces ACT-caused efflux (Fig.
5) point together to the transient formation of
nonlamellar intermediates during the irreversible, Ca2+-dependent
step of ACT insertion into membranes . A similar suggestion had been
made in relation to the lytic effect of E . coli HlyA (33) .
The phenomenon is not limited to RTX proteins and may be more general
in membrane protein insertion . Alonso et al . (1)
reported that lipids favoring inverted-phase formation enhance the
ability of aerolysin, a non-RTX toxin from Aeromonas hydrophila,
to permeabilize liposome bilayers . These authors suggest that lipids
inducing negative curvature of bilayer leaflets lower the surface
pressure at the interface and that this in turn may favor access of
the protein to the hydrophobic matrix . Outside the field of toxins,
Dan and Safran (11) explained the requirement of
non-bilayer lipids for the activity of some integral proteins in
terms of the relationship between the lipid properties and the
tension exerted on membrane proteins . A number of "nonpermanent" (14)
membrane proteins are known to bind more easily when the bilayer
contains negative-curvature lipids (13,
24, 38) . In general, the presence of
non-bilayer lipids appears to increase the structural plasticity and
functional versatility of bilayers .
Equimolar proportions of Ch in PC bilayers increase the rate of
ACT-induced efflux about threefold compared to the pure-PC vesicles
(Fig . 5) . This is not limited to ACT insertion . Scott
and Zakim (35) observed that Ch lowered the energy
barrier for insertion of integral membrane proteins into bilayers . Ch
certainly favors the formation of nonlamellar structures (10,
25); it also has a number of other effects on the
physical properties of the bilayer . The ability of Ch to increase the
static order of phospholipid hydrocarbon chains may be relevant in
this context . Ch ordering effects lead to the formation of
"liquid-ordered phases." In PC-Ch mixtures, a liquid-ordered phase
predominates above
20%
Ch (21) . It is interesting that it is precisely in
this range of concentrations that Ch clearly stimulates liposomal
efflux (Fig . 5) .
Formation of even transient nonlamellar lipid structures of
geometries resembling the inverted hexagonal or inverted cubic phases
must, of necessity, induce trans-bilayer or flip-flop movement of
lipids . Flip-flopping would also occur if ACT-induced lysis followed
the mechanism proposed by us for E . coli HlyA (37),
namely, insertion of an increasing number of toxin monomers into the
membrane outer monolayer until the increase in lateral pressure leads
to collapse of the membrane architecture . The data in Fig.
6 indicate that lipid trans-bilayer movement occurs
in parallel with ACT-mediated efflux, thus providing a hitherto
unobserved aspect of ACT insertion into membranes . Thus, toxin
insertion joins the number of pathophysiological events that may
induce collapse of lipid asymmetry in cell membranes (6) .
This work was supported in part by European Union contract QLK2-1999-0.0556
and by grant A502907 from the Grant Agency of the Czech Academy
of Sciences .
* Corresponding author . Mailing address: Unidad de Biofísica
(Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU), Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidad del País
Vasco, Aptdo . 644, 48080 Bilbao, Spain . Phone: 34 94 601 26 25 . Fax: 34 94 601
33 60 . E-mail: gbzoseth@lg.ehu.es.
C.M . and M.-A.R . contributed equally to this work .
- Alonso, A., F . M . Goni, and J . T . Buckley. 2000 . Lipids
favouring inverted phase enhance the ability of aerolysin to permeabilize
liposome bilayers . Biochemistry 39:14019-14024.
- Bartlett, G . R. 1959 . Phosphorus assay in column
chromatography . J . Biol . Chem . 234:466-468.
- Basar, T., V . Havlicek, S . Bezouskova, M . Hackett, and P .
Sebo. 2001 . Acylation of lysine 983 is sufficient for toxin activity of
Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase . J . Biol . Chem . 276:348-354 .
- Benz, R., E . Maier, D . Ladant, A . Ullmann, and P . Sebo.
1994 . Adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) of Bordetella pertussis: evidence
for the formation of small ion-permeable channels and comparison with HlyA of
Escherichia coli . J . Biol . Chem . 269:27231-27239 .
- Betsou, F., P . Sebo, and N . Guiso. 1993 . CyaC-mediated
activation is important not only for toxic but also for protective activities
of Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase-hemolysin . Infect . Immun .
61:3583-3589.
- Bevers, E . M., P . Comfurius, D . W . Dekkers, and R . F . Zwaal.
1999 . Lipid translocation across the plasma membrane of mammalian cells .
Biochim . Biophys . Acta 1439:317-330.
- Contreras, F . X., A . V . Villar, A . Alonso, R . N . Kolesnick,
and F . M . Goñi. 2003 . Sphingomyelinase activity causes transbilayer lipid
translocation in model and cell membranes . J . Biol . Chem . 278:37169-37174 .
- Cortajarena, A . L., F . M . Goñi, and H . Ostolaza. 2003 . A
receptor-binding region in Escherichia coli alpha-haemolysin . J . Biol .
Chem . 278:19159-19163 .
- Cortajarena, A . L., F . M . Goñi, and H . Ostolaza. 2001 .
Glycophorin as a receptor for Escherichia coli alpha-haemolysin in
erythrocytes . J . Biol . Chem . 276:12513-12519 .
- Cullis, P . R., and B . de Kruijff. 1978 . Polymorphic
phase behaviour of lipid mixtures as detected by 31P NMR: evidence
that cholesterol may destabilize bilayer structure in membrane systems
containing phosphatidylethanolamine . Biochim . Biophys . Acta 507:207-218.
- Dan, N., and S . A . Safran. 1998 . Effect of lipid
characteristics on the structure of transmembrane proteins . Biophys . J . 75:1410-1414 .
- De Kruijff, B. 1997 . Lipid polymorphism and biomembrane
function . Curr . Opin . Chem . Biol . 1:564-569.
- Epand, R . M. 1993 . Detection of hexagonal phase forming
propensity in phospholipid bilayers . Biophys . J . 64:290-291.
- Goñi, F . M. 2002 . Non-permanent proteins in membranes:
when proteins come as visitors . Mol . Membr . Biol . 19:237-245.
- Goñi, F . M., and A . Alonso. 1999 . Structure and
functional properties of diacylglycerols in membranes . Prog . Lipid . Res .
38:1-48.
- Goñi, F . M., and H . Ostolaza. 1998 . E . coli
alpha-haemolysin: a membrane-active protein toxin . Braz . J . Med . Biol . Res .
31:1019-1034.
- Gray, M., G . Szabo, A . S . Otero, L . Gray, and E . Hewlett.
1998 . Distinct mechanisms for K+ efflux, intoxication, and
haemolysis by Bordetella pertussis AC toxin . J . Biol . Chem . 273:18260-18267 .
- Guermonprez, P., N . Khelef, E . Blouin, P . Rieu, P .
Ricciardi-Castagnoli, N . Guiso, D . Ladant, and C . Leclerc. 2001 . The
adenylate cyclase toxin of Bordetella pertussis binds to target cells
via the
Mß2
integrin (CD11b/CD18) . J . Exp . Med . 193:1035-1044 .
- Hackett, M., C . B . Walker, L . Guo, M . C . Gray, S . Van Cuyk,
A . Ullmann, J . Shabanowitz, D . F . Hunt, E . L . Hewlett, and P . Sebo. 1995 .
Haemolytic, but not cell-invasive activity, of adenylate cyclase toxin is
selectively affected by differential fatty-acylation in Escherichia coli .
J . Biol . Chem . 270:20250-20253 .
- Helfrich, W. 1973 . Elastic properties of lipid bilayers:
theory and possible experiments . Z . Naturforsch . C28:693-703.
- Ipsen, J . H., G . Karlstrom, O . G . Mouritsen, H . Wennerstrom,
and M . J . Zuckermann. 1987 . Phase equilibria in the
phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol system . Biochim . Biophys . Acta 905:162-172.
- Israelachvili, J . N., S . Marcelja, and R . G . Horn. 1980 .
Physical principles of membrane organization . Q . Rev . Biophys . 13:121-200.
- Jacobs, R., and E . Oldfield. 1979 . Deuterium nuclear
magnetic resonance investigation of dimyristoyllecithin-dipalmitoyllecithin
and dimyristoyllecithin-cholesterol mixtures . Biochemistry 18:3280-3285.
- Jamil, H., G . M . Hatch, and D . E . Vance. 1993 . Evidence
that binding of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase to membranes in rat
hepatocytes is modulated by the ratio of bilayer- to non-bilayer-forming
lipids . Biochem . J . 291:419-427.
- Janes, N. 1996 . Curvature stress and polymorphism in
membranes . Chem . Phys . Lipids 81:133-150.
- Jeyaseelan, S., S . L . Hsuan, M . S . Kannan, B . Walcheck, J .
F . Wang, M . E . Kehrli, E . T . Lally, G . C . Sieck, and S . K . Maheswaran.
2000 . Lymphocyte function associated antigen 1 is a receptor for
Pasteurella haemolytica leukotoxin in bovine leukocytes . Infect . Immun .
68:72-79 .
- Karimova, G., C . Fayolle, S . Gmira, A . Ullmann, C . Leclerc,
and C . Ladant. 1998 . Charge-dependent translocation of Bordetella
pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin into eukaryotic cells: implication for
the in vivo delivery of CD8+ T cell epitopes into
antigen-presenting cells . Proc . Natl . Acad . Sci . USA 95:12532-12537 .
- Ladant, D., and A . Ullmann. 1999 . Bordetella
pertussis adenylate cyclase: a toxin with multiple talents . Trends
Microbiol . 7:172-176.
- Lally, E . T., I . R . Kieba, A . Sato, C . L . Green, J .
Rosenbloom, J . Korostoff, J . F . Wang, B . J . Shenker, S . Ortlepp, M . K .
Robinson, and P . C . Billings. 1997 . RTX toxins recognize a ß2 integrin on
the surface of human target cells . J . Biol . Chem . 272:30463-30469 .
- Mayer, L . D., M . J . Hope, and P . R . Cullis. 1986 .
Vesicles of variable sizes produced by a rapid extrusion procedure . Biochim .
Biophys . Acta 858:161-168.
- Osicka, R., A . Osickova, T . Basar, P . Guermonprez, M . Rojas,
C . Leclerc, and P . Sebo. 2000 . Delivery of CD8+ T-cell epitopes
into major histocompatibility complex class I antigen presentation pathway by
Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase: delineation of cell-invasive
structures and permissive sites . Infect . Immun . 68:247-256 .
- Osickova, A., R . Osicka, E . Meyer, R . Benz, and P . Sebo.
1999 . An amphipathic
-helix
including glutamates 509 and 516 is crucial for membrane translocation of
adenylate cyclase toxin and modulates formation and cation selectivity of its
membrane channels . J . Biol . Chem . 274:37644-37650 .
- Ostolaza, H., B . Bartolomé, I . Ortiz de Zarate, F . de la
Cruz, and F . M . Goñi. 1993 . Release of lipid vesicle contents by the
bacterial protein toxin alpha-haemolysin . Biochim . Biophys . Acta 1147:81-88.
- Otero, A . S., X . B . Yi, M . C . Gray, G . Szabo, and E . L .
Hewlett. 1995 . Membrane depolarization prevents cell invasion by
Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin . J . Biol . Chem . 270:9695-9697 .
- Scott, A . W., and D . Zakim. 1986 . Reconstitution of
membrane proteins: catalysis by cholesterol of insertion of integral membrane
proteins into preformed lipid bilayers . Biochemistry 25:1555-1561.
- Sebo, P., P . Glaser, H . Sakamoto, and A . Ullmann. 1991 .
High-level synthesis of active adenylate cyclase toxin of Bordetella
pertussis in a reconstructed Escherichia coli system . Gene 104:19-24.
- Soloaga, A., M . P . Veiga, L . M . Garcia-Segura, H . Ostolaza,
R . Brasseur, and F . M . Goñi. 1999 . Insertion of Escherichia coli
alpha-haemolysin in lipid bilayers as a non-transmembrane integral protein:
prediction and experiment . Mol . Microbiol . 31:1013-1024.
- Soulages, J . L., Z . Salamon, M . A . Wells, and G . Tollin.
1995 . Low concentrations of diacylglycerol promote the binding of
apolipophorin III to a phospholipid bilayer: a surface plasmon resonance
spectroscopy study . Proc . Natl . Acad . Sci . USA 92:5650-5654.
- Szabo, G., M . C . Gray, and E . L . Hewlett. 1994 .
Adenylate cyclase from Bordetella pertussis produces ion conductance
across artificial lipid bilayers in a calcium- and polarity-dependent manner .
J . Biol . Chem . 269:22496-22499 .
- Welch, R . A. 2001 . RTX toxin structure and function: a
story of numerous anomalies and few analogies in toxin biology . Curr . Top .
Microbiol . Immunol . 257:85-111.
- Young, J., and I . B . Holland. 1999 . ABC transporters:
bacterial exporters—revisited five years on . Biochim . Biophys . Acta 1461:177-200.
- Zaretzky, F . R., M . C . Gray, and E . L . Hewlett. 2002 .
Mechanism of association of adenylate cyclase toxin with the surface of
Bordetella pertussis: a role for toxin-filamentous haemagglutinin
interaction . Mol . Microbiol . 45:1589-1598.
Free Online Full-text Article
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
|