PgtE Enzyme of Shares the Similar Biological Roles to Plasminogen Activator (Pla) in Interacting With DEC-205 (CD205), and Enhancing Host Dissemination and Infectivity by .

, the cause of plague, is a newly evolved Gram-negative bacterium. Through the acquisition of the plasminogen activator (Pla), gained the means to rapidly disseminate throughout its mammalian hosts. It was suggested that utilizes Pla to interact with the DEC-205 (CD205) receptor on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to initiate host dissemination and infection. However, the evolutionary origin of Pla has not been fully elucidated. The PgtE enzyme of , involved in host dissemination, shows sequence similarity with the Pla. In this study, we demonstrated that both K-12 and bacteria expressing the PgtE-protein were able to interact with primary alveolar macrophages and DEC-205-transfected CHO cells. The interaction between PgtE-expressing bacteria and DEC-205-expressing transfectants could be inhibited by the application of an anti-DEC-205 antibody. Moreover, PgtE-expressing partially re-gained the ability to promote host dissemination and infection. In conclusion, the DEC-205-PgtE interaction plays a role in promoting the dissemination and infection of , suggesting that Pla and the PgtE of might share a common evolutionary origin.