title: Functional Contributions of Positive Charges in the Pore-Lining Helix 3 of the Bordetella pertussis CyaA-Hemolysin to Hemolytic Activity and Ion-Channel Opening.
abstract: The Bordetella pertussis CyaA-hemolysin (CyaA-Hly) domain was previously demonstrated to be an important determinant for hemolysis against target erythrocytes and ion-channel formation in planar lipid bilayers (PLBs). Here, net-charge variations in the pore-lining helix of thirteen related RTX cytolysins including CyaA-Hly were revealed by amino acid sequence alignments, reflecting their different degrees of hemolytic activity. To analyze possible functional effects of net-charge alterations on hemolytic activity and channel formation of CyaA-Hly, specific mutations were made at Gln574or Glu581in its pore-lining α3 of which both residues are highly conserved Lys in the three highly active RTX cytolysins (i.e., Escherichia coli α-hemolysin, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae toxin, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin). All six constructed CyaA-Hly mutants that were over-expressed in E. coli as 126 kDa His-tagged soluble proteins were successfully purified via immobilized Ni2+-affinity chromatography. Both positive-charge substitutions (Q574K, Q574R, E581K, E581R) and negative-charge elimination (E581Q) appeared to increase the kinetics of toxin-induced hemolysis while the substitution with a negatively-charged side-chain (Q574E) completely abolished its hemolytic activity. When incorporated into PLBs under symmetrical conditions (1.0 M KCl, pH 7.4), all five mutant toxins with the increased hemolytic activity produced clearly-resolved single channels with higher open probability and longer lifetime than the wild-type toxin, albeit with a half decrease in their maximum conductance. Molecular dynamics simulations for 50 ns of a trimeric CyaA-Hly pore model comprising three α2-loop-α3 transmembrane hairpins revealed a significant role of the positive charge at both target positions in the structural stability and enlarged diameter of the simulated pore. Altogether, our present data have disclosed functional contributions of positively-charged side-chains substituted at positions Gln574and Glu581in the pore-lining α3 to the enhanced hemolytic activity and ion-channel opening of CyaA-Hly that actually mimics the highly-active RTX (repeat-in-toxin) cytolysins.
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Protein Toxin Research Cluster, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakornpathom 73170, Thailand. chattipk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chattip
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurehong
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. katzenmeier.ger@mahidol.ac.th.
authors.forename: Chalermpol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kanchanawarin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Silpakorn University, Nakornpathom 73000, Thailand. fscicpk@ku.ac.th.
authors.forename: Busaba
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Powthongchin
authors.affiliation: Division of Biochemistry and Biochemical Technology, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. p.busaba.su@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Panchika
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prangkio
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Protein Toxin Research Cluster, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakornpathom 73170, Thailand. panchikap@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Katzenmeier
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Protein Toxin Research Cluster, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakornpathom 73170, Thailand. chanan.ang@mahidol.ac.th.
authors.forename: Chanan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Angsuthanasombat
mesh_terms: D037361:Adenylate Cyclase Toxin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004912:Erythrocytes; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006461:Hemolysis; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D037361:Adenylate Cyclase Toxin; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins
keywords: Bordetella pertussis; CyaA-hemolysin; MD simulations; RTX cytolysin; channel-open lifetime; pore-lining helix; trimeric pore