title: Mycobacterium tuberculosis ftsH expression in response to stress and viability.
abstract: FtsH is an essential membrane-bound protease that degrades integral membrane proteins as well as cytoplasmic proteins. We show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) ftsH expression levels are upregulated upon exposure to agents that produce reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates (ROI and RNI) and growth in macrophages. In partial support of this result is our observation that the Mtb merodiploid overexpressing ftsH shows increased resistance to ROI. ftsH transcript levels are downregulated during stationary phase and starvation. ftsH overexpression strain shows delayed growth and reduced viability in vitro and ex vivo. Finally, we show that the intracellular levels of FtsZ, an essential cell-division protein, are reduced in ftsH-overexpressing strain. Together, our results suggest that Mtb FtsH is a stress-response protein that promotes the pathogen's ability to deal with ROI stress and is possibly involved in the regulation of FtsZ levels.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Department, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, 11937 US Hwy 271, Tyler, TX 75708, USA.
authors.forename: Manjot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiran
authors.forename: Ashwini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chauhan
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dziedzic
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maloney
authors.forename: Samir Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mukherji
authors.forename: Murty
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Madiraju
authors.forename: Malini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajagopalan
mesh_terms: D049069:ATP-Dependent Proteases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D049069:ATP-Dependent Proteases; C513383:FtsH protein, E coli