IL-1R activation is required for neutrophil recruitment in an effective innate immune response against Staphylococcus aureus infection. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of IL-1R activation in vivo in a model of S. aureus infection. In response to a S. aureus cutaneous challenge, mice deficient in IL-1β, IL-1α/IL-1β, but not IL-1α, developed larger lesions with higher bacterial counts and had decreased neutrophil recruitment compared with wild-type mice. Neutrophil recruitment and bacterial clearance required IL-1β expression by bone marrow (BM)-derived cells and not by non-BM-derived resident cells. In addition, mice deficient in the inflammasome component apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) had the same defects in neutrophil recruitment and host defense as IL-1β-deficient mice, demonstrating an essential role for the inflammasome in mediating the production of active IL-1β to promote neutrophil recruitment in host defense against S. aureus. This finding was further supported by the ability of recombinant active IL-1β to control the infection and promote bacterial clearance in IL-1β-deficient mice. These studies define a key host defense circuit where inflammasome-mediated IL-1β production by BM-derived cells signals IL-1R on non-BM-derived resident cells to activate neutrophil recruitment in the innate immune response against S. aureus in vivo.
Coenzyme Q (ubiquinone or Q) is a crucial mitochondrial lipid required for respiratory electron transport in eukaryotes. 4-Hydroxybenozoate (4HB) is an aromatic ring precursor that forms the benzoquinone ring of Q and is used extensively to examine Q biosynthesis. However, the direct precursor compounds and enzymatic steps for synthesis of 4HB in yeast are unknown. Here we show that para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA), a well known precursor of folate, also functions as a precursor for Q biosynthesis. We suggest a mechanism where Schiff base-mediated deimination forms DMQ 6 quinone, thereby eliminating the nitrogen contributed by pABA. This scheme results in the convergence of the 4HB and pABA pathways in eukaryotic Q biosynthesis and has implications regarding the action of pABAbased antifolates. Coenzyme Q (Q)2 is an essential polyprenylated benzoquinone lipid in cellular energy metabolism. The prenyl tail anchors Q in cellular membranes, whereas the redox chemistry of the benzoquinone ring plays a crucial role in respiratory electron transport, in catabolic and biosynthetic metabolism (1), as a co-antioxidant able to recycle vitamin E, and as a chain-terminating antioxidant (2). In these reactions the quinone ring of Q thus cycles between oxidized and reduced (QH 2 , or hydroquinone) states.Cells rely on de novo synthesis for an adequate supply of Q. Studies in Escherichia coli, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have made use of Q-deficient mutants to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway (3-5). In S. cerevisiae, nine COQ genes are required, and each of the yeast coq mutants (coq1 through coq9) lack Q 6 and are unable to grow on media containing non-fermentable carbon sources such as glycerol or ethanol. The dedicated precursors in the biosynthesis of Q are polyisoprene diphosphate, which provides the tail (S. cerevisiae synthesizes Q 6 , with a tail containing six isoprene units), and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4HB) (6, 7). Studies in animal cells and in E. coli indicate that different metabolic pathways are used to produce 4HB. Animals (e.g. rats and humans) generate 4HB from the essential dietary amino acid tyrosine (6 -8). Phenylalanine also acts as a precursor for 4HB, however, the incorporation is thought to proceed primarily following its conversion to tyrosine via phenylalanine hydroxylase (8). The biosynthetic steps leading from 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate to 4HB in animal cells are not yet characterized (see Fig. 1). E. coli relies on shikimate biosynthesis, the formation of chorismate, and chorismate pyruvate lyase (encoded by the ubiC gene) to synthesize 4HB (9, 10). E. coli ubiC mutants lack Q unless 4HB is provided in the growth media (9). E. coli mutants lacking shikimate or chorismate also require exogenous 4HB to synthesize Q (11). Thus, E. coli cells are unable to convert tyrosine or phenylalanine to Q and rely exclusively on the de novo synthesis of 4HB from chorismate.In contrast, S. cerevisiae may utilize either shikimate or tyrosine to synthesize the aromatic ring precursor of Q (6,...
The facile abstraction of bis-allylic hydrogens from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is the hallmark chemistry responsible for initiation and propagation of autoxidation reactions. The products of these autoxidation reactions can form cross-links to other membrane components, damage proteins and nucleic acid. We report that PUFAs deuterated at bis-allylic sites are much more resistant to autoxidation reactions, due to the isotope effect. This is shown using coenzyme Q-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae coq mutants with defects in biosynthesis of coenzyme Q (Q). Q functions in respiratory energy metabolism and also functions as a lipid-soluble antioxidant. Yeast coq mutants incubated in the presence of the PUFAs α-linolenic or linoleic acid exhibit 99% loss of colony formation after four hours, demonstrating a profound loss of viability. In contrast, coq mutants treated with monounsaturated oleic acid or with one of the deuterated PUFAs:11,11-D2-Linoleic or 11,11,14,14-D4-αLinolenic retain viability similar to wild-type yeast. Deuterated PUFAs also confer protection to wild-type yeast subjected to heat stress. These results indicate that isotope-reinforced PUFAs are stabilized compared to standard PUFAs, and they protect coq mutants and wild-type yeast cells against the toxic effects of lipid autoxidation products. These findings suggest new approaches to controlling ROS-inflicted cellular damage and oxidative stress.
Coenzyme Qn (ubiquinone or Qn) is a redox active lipid composed of a fully substituted benzoquinone ring and a polyisoprenoid tail of n isoprene units. Saccharomyces cerevisiae coq1-coq9 mutants have defects in Q biosynthesis, lack Q6, are respiratory defective, and sensitive to stress imposed by polyunsaturated fatty acids. The hallmark phenotype of the Q-less yeast coq mutants is that respiration in isolated mitochondria can be rescued by the addition of Q2, a soluble Q analog. Yeast coq10 mutants share each of these phenotypes, with the surprising exception that they continue to produce Q6. Structure determination of the Caulobacter crescentus Coq10 homolog (CC1736) revealed a steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-related lipid transfer (START) domain, a hydrophobic tunnel known to bind specific lipids in other START domain family members. Here we show that purified CC1736 binds Q2, Q3, Q10, or demethoxy-Q3 in an equimolar ratio, but fails to bind 3-farnesyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid, a farnesylated analog of an early Q-intermediate. Over-expression of C. crescentus CC1736 or COQ8 restores respiratory electron transport and antioxidant function of Q6 in the yeast coq10 null mutant. Studies with stable isotope ring precursors of Q reveal that early Q-biosynthetic intermediates accumulate in the coq10 mutant and de novo Q-biosynthesis is less efficient than in the wild-type yeast or rescued coq10 mutant. The results suggest that the Coq10 polypeptide:Q (protein:ligand) complex may serve essential functions in facilitating de novo Q biosynthesis and in delivering newly synthesized Q to one or more complexes of the respiratory electron transport chain.
Microorganisms can be engineered for the production of chemicals utilized in the polymer industry. However many such target compounds inhibit microbial growth and might correspondingly limit production levels. Here, we focus on compounds that are precursors to bioplastics, specifically styrene and representative alpha-olefins; 1-hexene, 1-octene, and 1-nonene. We evaluated the role of the Escherichia coli efflux pump, AcrAB-TolC, in enhancing tolerance towards these olefin compounds. AcrAB-TolC is involved in the tolerance towards all four compounds in E. coli. Both styrene and 1-hexene are highly toxic to E. coli. Styrene is a model plastics precursor with an established route for production in E. coli (McKenna and Nielsen, 2011). Though our data indicates that AcrAB-TolC is important for its optimal production, we observed a strong negative selection against the production of styrene in E. coli. Thus we used 1-hexene as a model compound to implement a directed evolution strategy to further improve the tolerance phenotype towards this alpha-olefin. We focused on optimization of AcrB, the inner membrane domain known to be responsible for substrate binding, and found several mutations (A279T, Q584R, F617L, L822P, F927S, and F1033Y) that resulted in improved tolerance. Several of these mutations could also be combined in a synergistic manner. Our study shows efflux pumps to be an important mechanism in host engineering for olefins, and one that can be further improved using strategies such as directed evolution, to increase tolerance and potentially production. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 879–888. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by John Wiley & Periodicals, Inc.
The facile abstraction of bis-allylic hydrogens from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is the hallmark chemistry responsible for initiation and propagation of autoxidation reactions. The products of these autoxidation reactions can form cross-links to other membrane components, damage proteins and nucleic acid. We report that PUFAs deuterated at bis-allylic sites are much more resistant to autoxidation reactions, due to the isotope effect. This is shown using coenzyme Q-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae coq mutants with defects in biosynthesis of coenzyme Q (Q). Q functions in respiratory energy metabolism and also functions as a lipid-soluble antioxidant. Yeast coq mutants incubated in the presence of the PUFAs α-linolenic or linoleic acid exhibit 99% loss of colony formation after four hours, demonstrating a profound loss of viability. In contrast, coq mutants treated with monounsaturated oleic acid or with one of the deuterated PUFAs:11,11-D 2 -Linoleic or 11,11,14,14-D 4 -αLinolenic retain viability similar to wild-type yeast. Deuterated PUFAs also confer protection to wild-type yeast subjected to heat stress. These results indicate that isotope-reinforced PUFAs are stabilized compared to standard PUFAs, and they protect coq mutants and wild-type yeast cells against the toxic effects of lipid autoxidation products. These findings suggest new approaches to controlling ROS-inflicted cellular damage and oxidative stress.
Respiratory electron transport in the plasma membrane of prokaryotes and in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes is supported by the crucial lipid component, ubiquinone (coenzyme Q or Q). Qn is composed of a fully substituted benzoquinone ring and a polyisoprene tail of n units. The best‐characterized ring precursor, 4‐hydroxybenozoate (4HB), is derived from the chorismate biosynthetic pathway. Extensive work has shown that the ring carbons of 4HB are incorporated into Q6 in yeast, under the activity of an enzyme complex found in the yeast mitochondrial matrix. However, the direct precursor compounds and enzymatic steps for the generation of 4HB in yeast are unknown. Our recent findings show that para‐aminobenzoic acid (pABA) is also a precursor for Q biosynthesis. In yeast pABA is synthesized from chorismate in two steps: Abz1 amidates chorismate to form 4‐deoxyaminochorismate, and Abz2 is a lyase that forms pABA. Here we show that the production of a prenylated form of pABA is dependent on the presence of the ABZ1 gene. We also demonstrate by LC‐MSMS analyses that yeast incubated with stable isotope forms of [13C6‐ring]‐pABA or [13C6‐ring]‐4HB generate [13C6]‐coenzyme Q6. These results identify a novel biosynthetic pathway for the production of Q in yeast. This research was supported by grants from the NIH GM 45952, NSF MCB‐0919609, and by a grant S10RR024605 from the National Center for Research Resources.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are exquisitely sensitive to autoxidation damage. The enhanced vulnerability of PUFAs to such autoxidation stems from the labile nature of the bis‐allylic hydrogen atoms. PUFAs synthesized to contain Deuterium atoms uniquely at the bis‐allylic sites (termed isotope‐reinforced PUFAs) would be expected to be more resistant to autoxidation reactions due to the isotope effect. This hypothesis was tested by making use of yeast coq mutants with defects in biosynthesis of coenzyme Q (CoQ, or ubiquinone). CoQ plays a well‐known role in respiratory energy metabolism and also functions as a lipid soluble chain terminating antioxidant. Although yeast cannot synthesize PUFAs, they are able to incorporate exogenously supplied PUFAs. Yeast coq mutants incubated in the presence of linolenic acid (C18:3) exhibit profound loss of viability as ascertained by greater than 99% loss of colony formation at 4 hours. In contrast, the coq mutants treated with the isotope‐reinforced linolenic acid (bis‐allylic D4‐C18:3) retain 80–90% viability, a value similar to wild‐type or CoQ‐replete yeast. These results indicate that isotope reinforced PUFAs are stabilized as compared to standard PUFAs, and the coq mutant yeast cells containing the D4‐linolenic acid are protected against the toxic effects of lipid autoxidation products. This research was supported by NIH GM45952.
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