title: Analysis of a Lys-specific serine endopeptidase secreted via the type IX secretion system in Porphyromonas gingivalis.
abstract: Porphyromonas gingivalis, a significant causative agent of adult periodontitis, possesses a novel secretion system called the type IX secretion system (T9SS). A number of virulence factors, such as Arg-gingipain (Rgp), are translocated onto the cell surface and into the extracellular milieu via the T9SS. In this study, we found that the PGN_1416 90- to 120-kDa diffuse protein bands were located in the outer membrane fraction and that the presence of the bands was dependent on genes involved in the T9SS and the formation of anionic lipopolysaccharide (A-LPS). These data strongly suggest that the PGN_1416 protein is secreted by the T9SS and anchored onto the cell surface by binding to A-LPS. Enzymatic analysis using outer membrane fractions suggested that the PGN_1416 protein has a Lys-specific serine endopeptidase activity and that its activation requires processing by Rgp. Homologues of the gene encoding PGN_1416, which is referred to as pepK, were found in bacteria belonging to the phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, whereas homologues encoding the C-terminal domain, which is essential for T9SS-mediated secretion, and the catalytic domain were only observed in bacteria belonging to the Bacteroidetes phylum.
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Oral Infection, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadowaki
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Hideharu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yukitake
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakayama
mesh_terms: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D008239:Lysine / Q000378:metabolism*; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D021381:Protein Transport; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D008239:Lysine
keywords: endopeptidase; oral anaerobic bacterium; periodontal disease; protein secretion system