This is a repository copy of Redox-switchable siderophore anchor enables reversible artificial metalloenzyme assembly.

To acquire essential Fe(III), bacteria produce and secrete siderophores with high affinity and selectivity for Fe(III) to mediate its uptake into the cell. Here, we show that the periplasmic binding protein CeuE of Campylobacter jejuni, which was previously thought to bind the Fe(III) complex of the hexadentate siderophore enterobactin (Kd ∼ 0.4 ± 0.1 µM), preferentially binds the Fe(III) complex of the tetradentate enterobactin hydrolysis product bis(2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-l-Ser) (H5-bisDHBS) (Kd = 10.1 ± 3.8 nM). The protein selects Λ-configured [Fe(bisDHBS)]2− from a pool of diastereomeric Fe(III)-bisDHBS species that includes complexes with metal-to-ligand ratios of 1:1 and 2:3. Cocrystal structures show that, in addition to electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding, [Fe(bisDHBS)]2− binds through coordination of His227 and Tyr288 to the iron center. Similar binding is observed for the Fe(III) complex of the bidentate hydrolysis product 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-l-Ser, [Fe(monoDHBS)2]3−. The mutation of His227 and Tyr288 to noncoordinating residues (H227L/Y288F) resulted in a substantial loss of affinity for [Fe(bisDHBS)]2− (Kd ∼ 0.5 ± 0.2 µM). These results suggest a previously unidentified role for CeuE within the Fe(III) uptake system of C. jejuni, provide a molecular-level understanding of the underlying binding pocket adaptations, and rationalize reports on the use of enterobactin hydrolysis products by C. jejuni, Vibrio cholerae, and other bacteria with homologous periplasmic binding proteins.

Iron-bound structure: The ferric complex of a tetradentate siderophore mimic was synthesized and co-crystallized with the periplasmic binding protein CeuE of Campylobacter jejuni. In addition to electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions between the binding pocket and the substrate, the structure showed direct coordination of two amino acid side chains to the Fe(III) center (orange, see figure).

Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is an important Gram-positive human pathogen that causes millions of infections worldwide with an increasing occurrence of antibiotic resistance. Fe acquisition is a crucial virulence determinant in Spn; further, Spn relies on exogenous Fe III -siderophore scavenging to meet nutritional Fe needs. Recent studies suggest that the human catecholamine stress hormone, norepinephrine (NE), facilitates Fe acquisition in Spn under conditions of transferrin-mediated Fe starvation. Here we show that the solute binding lipoprotein PiuA from the piu Fe acquisition ABC transporter PiuBCDA, previously described as an Fe-hemin binding protein, binds tetradentate catechol Fe III complexes, including NE and the hydrolysis products of enterobactin. Two protein-derived ligands (H238, Y300) create a coordinately-saturated Fe III complex, which parallel recent studies in the Gram-negative intestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Our in vitro studies using NMR spectroscopy and 54 Fe LC-ICP-MS confirm the Fe III can move from transferrin to apo-PiuA in a NE-dependent manner. Structural analysis of PiuA Fe III -bis-catechol and Ga III -bis-catechol and Ga III -(NE)2 complexes by NMR spectroscopy reveals only localized structural perturbations in PiuA upon ligand binding, largely consistent with recent descriptions of other solute binding proteins of type II ABC transporters. We speculate that tetradentate Fe III complexes formed by mono-and bis-catechol species are important Fe sources in Gram-positive human pathogens, since PiuA functions in the same way as SstD from Staphylococcus aureus.

Bacteria use siderophores to mediate the transport of essential Fe(III) into the cell. In Campylobacter jejuni the periplasmic binding protein CeuE, an integral part of the Fe(III) transport system, has adapted to bind tetradentate siderophores using a His and a Tyr side chain to complete the Fe(III) coordination. A series of tetradentate siderophore mimics was synthesized in which the length of the linker between the two iron-binding catecholamide units was increased from four carbon atoms (4-LICAM4−) to five, six and eight (5-, 6-, 8-LICAM4−, respectively). Co-crystal structures with CeuE showed that the inter-planar angles between the iron-binding catecholamide units in the 5-, 6- and 8-LICAM4− structures are very similar (111°, 110° and 110°) and allow for an optimum fit into the binding pocket of CeuE, the inter-planar angle in the structure of 4-LICAM4− is significantly smaller (97°) due to restrictions imposed by the shorter linker. Accordingly, the protein-binding affinity was found to be slightly higher for 5- compared to 4-LICAM4− but decreases for 6- and 8-LICAM4−. The optimum linker length of five matches that present in natural siderophores such as enterobactin and azotochelin. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to investigate the relative importance of the Fe(III)-coordinating residues H227 and Y288.