KLIKK proteases of Tannerella forsythia: putative virulence factors with a unique domain structure.

Ksiazek, Miroslaw; Mizgalska, Danuta; Eick, Sigrun; Thøgersen, Ida B; Enghild, Jan J; Potempa, Jan (2015). KLIKK proteases of Tannerella forsythia: putative virulence factors with a unique domain structure. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6(312), p. 312. Frontiers 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00312

[img]
Preview
Text
KLIKKproteasesofTannerella.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY).

Download (3MB) | Preview

Comparative genomics of virulent Tannerella forsythia ATCC 43037 and a close health-associated relative, Tannerella BU063, revealed, in the latter, the absence of an entire array of genes encoding putative secretory proteases that possess a nearly identical C-terminal domain (CTD) that ends with a -Lys-Leu-Ile-Lys-Lys motif. This observation suggests that these proteins, referred to as KLIKK proteases, may function as virulence factors. Re-sequencing of the loci of the KLIKK proteases found only six genes grouped in two clusters. All six genes were expressed by T. forsythia in routine culture conditions, although at different levels. More importantly, a transcript of each gene was detected in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from periodontitis sites infected with T. forsythia indicating that the proteases are expressed in vivo. In each protein, a protease domain was flanked by a unique N-terminal profragment and a C-terminal extension ending with the CTD. Partially purified recombinant proteases showed variable levels of proteolytic activity in zymography gels and toward protein substrates, including collagen, gelatin, elastin, and casein. Taken together, these results indicate that the pathogenic strain of T. forsythia secretes active proteases capable of degrading an array of host proteins, which likely represents an important pathogenic feature of this bacterium.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > School of Dental Medicine > Periodontics Research

UniBE Contributor:

Eick, Sigrun

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1664-302X

Publisher:

Frontiers

Language:

English

Submitter:

Eveline Carmen Schuler

Date Deposited:

19 Oct 2015 11:55

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:49

Publisher DOI:

10.3389/fmicb.2015.00312

PubMed ID:

25954253

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Tannerella forsythia, infectious disease, periodontal disease, proteases, virulence

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.72322

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/72322

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback