Coiled-coil destabilizing residues in the group A Streptococcus M1 protein are required for functional interaction

Abstract

The sequences of M proteins, the major surface-associated virulence factors of the widespread bacterial pathogen group A Streptococcus, are antigenically variable but have in common a strong propensity to form coiled coils. Paradoxically, these sequences are also replete with coiled-coil destabilizing residues. These features are evident in the irregular coiled-coil structure and thermal instability of M proteins. We present an explanation for this paradox through studies of the B repeats of the medically important M1 protein. The B repeats are required for interaction of M1 with fibrinogen (Fg) and consequent proinflammatory activation. The B repeats sample multiple conformations, including intrinsically disordered, dissociated, as well as two alternate coiled-coil conformations: a Fg-nonbinding register 1 and a Fg-binding register 2. Stabilization of M1 in the Fg-nonbinding register 1 resulted in attenuation of Fg binding as expected, but counterintuitively, so did stabilization in the Fg-binding register 2. Strikingly, these register-stabilized M1 proteins gained the ability to bind Fg when they were destabilized by a chaotrope. These results indicate that M1 stability is antithetical to Fg interaction and that M1 conformational dynamics, as specified by destabilizing residues, are essential for interaction. A "capture-and-collapse" model of association accounts for these observations, in which M1 captures Fg through a dynamic conformation and then collapses into a register 2-coiled coil as a result of stabilization provided by binding energy. Our results support the general conclusion that destabilizing residues are evolutionarily conserved in M proteins to enable functional interactions necessary for pathogenesis.M proteins are the major surface-associated virulence factors of group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) and play a significant role in the diverse diseases caused by this widespread bacterial pathogen (1-3). M protein sequences are antigenically variable but have in common a strong propensity to form α-helical coiled coils (4). Paradoxically, these sequences are also replete with residues that destabilize coiled coils (5, 6). These destabilizing residues occur at the central a and d positions of the coiled-coil [abcdefg] n heptad repeat (Fig. 1). For dimeric α-helical coiled coils, as is the case for M proteins (7-9), the a and d positions are preferentially occupied by Val and Leu, respectively (10, 11). These small, hydrophobic residues typically engage in "knobs-into-hole" packing and form the hydrophobic core of the coiled-coil dimer. In contrast, the a and d positions of M proteins are often occupied by coiled-coil destabilizing residues (e.g., charged residues or alanines), and the heptad pattern sometimes contains short insertions or deletions (Fig. 1B) (5, 9). These sorts of destabilizing residues and heptad disruptions result in a highly irregular coiled-coil structure in M1 protein (9). The high proportion of coiled-coil destabilizing residues is also consistent with M protei...

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