Li Weihui, Cui Tao, Hu Lihua, Wang Ziqing, Li Zongqiang, He Zheng-Guo
National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Center for Proteomics Research, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Nat Commun. 2015 Sep 22;6:8330. doi: 10.1038/ncomms9330.
Cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a well-conserved second messenger in bacteria. During infection, the innate immune system can also sense c-di-GMP; however, whether bacterial pathogens utilize c-di-GMP as a weapon to fight against host defense for survival and possible mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood. Siderocalin (LCN2) is a key antibacterial component of the innate immune system and sequesters bacterial siderophores to prevent acquisition of iron. Here we show that c-di-GMP can directly target the human LCN2 protein to inhibit its antibacterial activity. We demonstrate that c-di-GMP specifically binds to LCN2. In addition, c-di-GMP can compete with bacterial ferric siderophores to bind LCN2. Furthermore, c-di-GMP can significantly reduce LCN2-mediated inhibition on the in vitro growth of Escherichia coli. Thus, LCN2 acts as a c-di-GMP receptor. Our findings provide insight into the mechanism by which bacteria utilize c-di-GMP to interfere with the innate immune system for survival.
环二鸟苷单磷酸(c-di-GMP)是细菌中一种保守性良好的第二信使。在感染过程中,先天免疫系统也能感知c-di-GMP;然而,细菌病原体是否利用c-di-GMP作为对抗宿主防御以实现生存的武器以及这一过程的潜在机制仍知之甚少。铁调素(LCN2)是先天免疫系统的关键抗菌成分,它能螯合细菌铁载体以阻止铁的获取。在此我们表明,c-di-GMP可直接作用于人类LCN2蛋白以抑制其抗菌活性。我们证明c-di-GMP能特异性结合LCN2。此外,c-di-GMP可与细菌铁离子铁载体竞争结合LCN2。再者,c-di-GMP能显著降低LCN2对体外大肠杆菌生长的抑制作用。因此,LCN2作为一种c-di-GMP受体。我们的研究结果为细菌利用c-di-GMP干扰先天免疫系统以实现生存的机制提供了见解。