title: A 43-kDa protein of Treponema denticola is essential for dentilisin activity.
abstract: A protease of Treponema denticola, dentilisin, is thought to be part of a complex with 43- and 38-kDa proteins. A sequence encoding a 43-kDa protein was located in the 3' region of the prcA gene upstream of the dentilisin gene (prtP). The 43-kDa protein was apparently generated from digestion of PrcA. To clarify the function of the protein, we constructed a mutant of the 43-kDa protein following homologous recombination. The mutant lacked detectable dentilisin activity. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that the dentilisin protein was degraded in the mutant. The results of real-time polymerase chain reaction suggested that prtP mRNA expression in the mutant was somewhat decreased compared with the wild-type strain. These data suggest that the 43-kDa protein is involved in the stabilization of the dentilisin protein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oral Health Science Center, Tokyo Dental College, 1-2-2 Masago, Mihama-ku, Chiba 261-8502, Japan. ishihara@tdc.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Howard K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kuramitsu
authors.forename: Katsuji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okuda
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002918:Chymotrypsin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009876:Operon; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D010957:Plasmids; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014208:Treponema / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D014211:Treponemal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C102570:dentilisin; D002918:Chymotrypsin