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  1. Article ; Online: Structure Determination of Microtubules and Pili

    James A. Garnett / Joseph Atherton

    Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol

    Past, Present, and Future Directions

    2022  Volume 8

    Abstract: Historically proteins that form highly polymeric and filamentous assemblies have been notoriously difficult to study using high resolution structural techniques. This has been due to several factors that include structural heterogeneity, their large ... ...

    Abstract Historically proteins that form highly polymeric and filamentous assemblies have been notoriously difficult to study using high resolution structural techniques. This has been due to several factors that include structural heterogeneity, their large molecular mass, and available yields. However, over the past decade we are now seeing a major shift towards atomic resolution insight and the study of more complex heterogenous samples and in situ/ex vivo examination of multi-subunit complexes. Although supported by developments in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (ssNMR) and computational approaches, this has primarily been due to advances in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The study of eukaryotic microtubules and bacterial pili are good examples, and in this review, we will give an overview of the technical innovations that have enabled this transition and highlight the advancements that have been made for these two systems. Looking to the future we will also describe systems that remain difficult to study and where further technical breakthroughs are required.
    Keywords cryo-EM ; ssNMR ; filament ; fibre ; microtubule ; pilus ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  2. Article ; Online: Editorial

    Christopher P. Ptak / Ching-Lin Hsieh / James A. Garnett / Rino Rappuoli / Yi-Pin Lin

    Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol

    Intersection of biophysical and structural approaches in vaccine design

    2023  Volume 10

    Keywords vaccine design ; antigen ; protein engineering ; stability ; structural biology ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Language English
    Publishing date 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  3. Article ; Online: Editorial

    James A. Garnett / Angelina Sá Palma / Bing Liu / Yan Liu

    Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol

    Glycans as Players in Host-Microbe Interactions: A Structural Perspective

    2021  Volume 8

    Keywords glycans and glycoconjugates ; glycosidic linkage ; microbe ; cell surface ; host interaction ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  4. Article ; Online: The Relationship between Mucins and Ulcerative Colitis

    Esther Bankole / Emily Read / Michael A. Curtis / Joana F. Neves / James A. Garnett

    Journal of Clinical Medicine, Vol 10, Iss 1935, p

    A Systematic Review

    2021  Volume 1935

    Abstract: Mucins are a family of glycosylated proteins which are the primary constituents of mucus and play a dynamic role in the regulation of the protective mucosal barriers throughout the human body. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) ...

    Abstract Mucins are a family of glycosylated proteins which are the primary constituents of mucus and play a dynamic role in the regulation of the protective mucosal barriers throughout the human body. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) characterised by continuous inflammation of the inner layer of the large intestine, and in this systematic review we analyse currently available data to determine whether alterations exist in mucin activity in the colonic mucosa of UC patients. Database searches were conducted to identify studies published between 1990 and 2020 that assess the role of mucins in cohorts of UC patients, where biopsy specimens were resected for analysis and control groups were included for comparison. 5497 articles were initially identified and of these 14 studies were systematically selected for analysis, a further 2 articles were identified through citation chaining. Therefore, 16 studies were critically reviewed. 13 of these studies assessed the role of MUC2 in UC and the majority of articles indicated that alterations in MUC2 structure or synthesis had an impact on the colonic mucosa, although conflicting results were presented regarding MUC2 expression. This review highlights the importance of further research to enhance our understanding of mucin regulation in UC and summarises data that may inform future studies.
    Keywords mucin ; MUC ; ulcerative colitis ; Inflammatory Bowel Disease ; mucosa ; intestine ; Medicine ; R
    Subject code 610
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-04-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  5. Article ; Online: The biofilm-associated surface protein Esp of Enterococcus faecalis forms amyloid-like fibers

    Agustina Taglialegna / Leticia Matilla-Cuenca / Pedro Dorado-Morales / Susanna Navarro / Salvador Ventura / James A. Garnett / Iñigo Lasa / Jaione Valle

    npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-

    2020  Volume 12

    Abstract: Abstract Functional amyloids are considered as common building block structures of the biofilm matrix in different bacteria. In previous work, we have shown that the staphylococcal surface protein Bap, a member of the Biofilm-Associated Proteins (BAP) ... ...

    Abstract Abstract Functional amyloids are considered as common building block structures of the biofilm matrix in different bacteria. In previous work, we have shown that the staphylococcal surface protein Bap, a member of the Biofilm-Associated Proteins (BAP) family, is processed and the fragments containing the N-terminal region become aggregation-prone and self-assemble into amyloid-like structures. Here, we report that Esp, a Bap-orthologous protein produced by Enterococcus faecalis, displays a similar amyloidogenic behavior. We demonstrate that at acidic pH the N-terminal region of Esp forms aggregates with an amyloid-like conformation, as evidenced by biophysical analysis and the binding of protein aggregates to amyloid-indicative dyes. Expression of a chimeric protein, with its Esp N-terminal domain anchored to the cell wall through the R domain of clumping factor A, showed that the Esp N-terminal region is sufficient to confer multicellular behavior through the formation of an extracellular amyloid-like material. These results suggest that the mechanism of amyloid-like aggregation to build the biofilm matrix might be widespread among BAP-like proteins. This amyloid-based mechanism may not only have strong relevance for bacteria lifestyle but could also contribute to the amyloid burden to which the human physiology is potentially exposed.
    Keywords Microbial ecology ; QR100-130
    Subject code 572
    Language English
    Publishing date 2020-03-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Nature Publishing Group
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  6. Article: The role of intrinsic disorder and dynamics in the assembly and function of the type II secretion system

    Gu, Shuang / James A. Garnett / Richard W. Pickersgill / Rosie Shaw / Vladimir E. Shevchik

    Biochimica et biophysica acta. 2017 Oct., v. 1865, no. 10

    2017  

    Abstract: Many Gram-negative commensal and pathogenic bacteria use a type II secretion system (T2SS) to transport proteins out of the cell. These exported proteins or substrates play a major role in toxin delivery, maintaining biofilms, replication in the host and ...

    Abstract Many Gram-negative commensal and pathogenic bacteria use a type II secretion system (T2SS) to transport proteins out of the cell. These exported proteins or substrates play a major role in toxin delivery, maintaining biofilms, replication in the host and subversion of host immune responses to infection. We review the current structural and functional work on this system and argue that intrinsically disordered regions and protein dynamics are central for assembly, exo-protein recognition, and secretion competence of the T2SS. The central role of intrinsic disorder-order transitions in these processes may be a particular feature of type II secretion.
    Keywords bacteria ; biofilm ; immune response ; proteomics ; secretion ; type II secretion system
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2017-10
    Size p. 1255-1266.
    Publishing place Elsevier B.V.
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 2918798-9
    ISSN 1878-1454 ; 1570-9639
    ISSN (online) 1878-1454
    ISSN 1570-9639
    DOI 10.1016/j.bbapap.2017.07.006
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  7. Article ; Online: Structure, Dynamics and Cellular Insight Into Novel Substrates of the Legionella pneumophila Type II Secretion System

    Theo J. Portlock / Jessica Y. Tyson / Sarath C. Dantu / Saima Rehman / Richard C. White / Ian E. McIntire / Lee Sewell / Katherine Richardson / Rosie Shaw / Alessandro Pandini / Nicholas P. Cianciotto / James A. Garnett

    Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol

    2020  Volume 7

    Abstract: Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative bacterium that is able to replicate within a broad range of aquatic protozoan hosts. L. pneumophila is also an opportunistic human pathogen that can infect macrophages and epithelia in the lung and lead to ... ...

    Abstract Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative bacterium that is able to replicate within a broad range of aquatic protozoan hosts. L. pneumophila is also an opportunistic human pathogen that can infect macrophages and epithelia in the lung and lead to Legionnaires’ disease. The type II secretion system is a key virulence factor of L. pneumophila and is used to promote bacterial growth at low temperatures, regulate biofilm formation, modulate host responses to infection, facilitate bacterial penetration of mucin gels and is necessary for intracellular growth during the initial stages of infection. The L. pneumophila type II secretion system exports at least 25 substrates out of the bacterium and several of these, including NttA to NttG, contain unique amino acid sequences that are generally not observed outside of the Legionella genus. NttA, NttC, and NttD are required for infection of several amoebal species but it is unclear what influence other novel substrates have within their host. In this study, we show that NttE is required for optimal infection of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Vermamoeba vermiformis amoeba and is essential for the typical colony morphology of L. pneumophila. In addition, we report the atomic structures of NttA, NttC, and NttE and through a combined biophysical and biochemical hypothesis driven approach we propose novel functions for these substrates during infection. This work lays the foundation for future studies into the mechanistic understanding of novel type II substrate functions and how these relate to L. pneumophila ecology and disease.
    Keywords Legionella pneumophila ; effector ; type II secretion system ; structure ; dynamics ; NttA ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 572
    Language English
    Publishing date 2020-06-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  8. Article ; Online: Structure and functional analysis of the Legionella pneumophila chitinase ChiA reveals a novel mechanism of metal-dependent mucin degradation.

    Saima Rehman / Lubov S Grigoryeva / Katherine H Richardson / Paula Corsini / Richard C White / Rosie Shaw / Theo J Portlock / Benjamin Dorgan / Zeinab S Zanjani / Arianna Fornili / Nicholas P Cianciotto / James A Garnett

    PLoS Pathogens, Vol 16, Iss 5, p e

    2020  Volume 1008342

    Abstract: Chitinases are important enzymes that contribute to the generation of carbon and nitrogen from chitin, a long chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine that is abundant in insects, fungi, invertebrates and fish. Although mammals do not produce chitin, ... ...

    Abstract Chitinases are important enzymes that contribute to the generation of carbon and nitrogen from chitin, a long chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine that is abundant in insects, fungi, invertebrates and fish. Although mammals do not produce chitin, chitinases have been identified in bacteria that are key virulence factors in severe respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary diseases. However, it is unclear how these enzymes are able to carry out this dual function. Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, an often-fatal pneumonia and its chitinase ChiA is essential for the survival of L. pneumophila in the lung. Here we report the first atomic resolution insight into the pathogenic mechanism of a bacterial chitinase. We derive an experimental model of intact ChiA and show how its N-terminal region targets ChiA to the bacterial surface after its secretion. We provide the first evidence that L. pneumophila can bind mucins on its surface, but this is not dependent on ChiA. This demonstrates that additional peripheral mucin binding proteins are also expressed in L. pneumophila. We also show that the ChiA C-terminal chitinase domain has novel Zn2+-dependent peptidase activity against mammalian mucin-like proteins, namely MUC5AC and the C1-esterase inhibitor, and that ChiA promotes bacterial penetration of mucin gels. Our findings suggest that ChiA can facilitate passage of L. pneumophila through the alveolar mucosa, can modulate the host complement system and that ChiA may be a promising target for vaccine development.
    Keywords Immunologic diseases. Allergy ; RC581-607 ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 570
    Language English
    Publishing date 2020-05-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  9. Article ; Online: Molecular and cellular insight into Escherichia coli SslE and its role during biofilm maturation

    Paula M. Corsini / Sunjun Wang / Saima Rehman / Katherine Fenn / Amin Sagar / Slobodan Sirovica / Leanne Cleaver / Charlotte J. C. Edwards-Gayle / Giulia Mastroianni / Ben Dorgan / Lee M. Sewell / Steven Lynham / Dinu Iuga / W. Trent Franks / James Jarvis / Guy H. Carpenter / Michael. A. Curtis / Pau Bernadó / Vidya C. Darbari /
    James A. Garnett

    npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-

    2022  Volume 16

    Abstract: Abstract Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the human intestine and virulent strains can cause severe diarrhoeal and extraintestinal diseases. The protein SslE is secreted by a range of pathogenic and commensal E. coli strains. ... ...

    Abstract Abstract Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the human intestine and virulent strains can cause severe diarrhoeal and extraintestinal diseases. The protein SslE is secreted by a range of pathogenic and commensal E. coli strains. It can degrade mucins in the intestine, promotes biofilm maturation and it is a major determinant of infection in virulent strains, although how it carries out these functions is not well understood. Here, we examine SslE from the commensal E. coli Waksman and BL21 (DE3) strains and the enterotoxigenic H10407 and enteropathogenic E2348/69 strains. We reveal that SslE has a unique and dynamic structure in solution and in response to acidification within mature biofilms it can form a unique aggregate with amyloid-like properties. Furthermore, we show that both SslE monomers and aggregates bind DNA in vitro and co-localise with extracellular DNA (eDNA) in mature biofilms, and SslE aggregates may also associate with cellulose under certain conditions. Our results suggest that interactions between SslE and eDNA are important for biofilm maturation in many E. coli strains and SslE may also be a factor that drives biofilm formation in other SslE-secreting bacteria.
    Keywords Microbial ecology ; QR100-130
    Subject code 570
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Nature Portfolio
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  10. Article ; Online: Staphylococcal Bap Proteins Build Amyloid Scaffold Biofilm Matrices in Response to Environmental Signals.

    Agustina Taglialegna / Susanna Navarro / Salvador Ventura / James A Garnett / Steve Matthews / José R Penades / Iñigo Lasa / Jaione Valle

    PLoS Pathogens, Vol 12, Iss 6, p e

    2016  Volume 1005711

    Abstract: Biofilms are communities of bacteria that grow encased in an extracellular matrix that often contains proteins. The spatial organization and the molecular interactions between matrix scaffold proteins remain in most cases largely unknown. Here, we report ...

    Abstract Biofilms are communities of bacteria that grow encased in an extracellular matrix that often contains proteins. The spatial organization and the molecular interactions between matrix scaffold proteins remain in most cases largely unknown. Here, we report that Bap protein of Staphylococcus aureus self-assembles into functional amyloid aggregates to build the biofilm matrix in response to environmental conditions. Specifically, Bap is processed and fragments containing at least the N-terminus of the protein become aggregation-prone and self-assemble into amyloid-like structures under acidic pHs and low concentrations of calcium. The molten globule-like state of Bap fragments is stabilized upon binding of the cation, hindering its self-assembly into amyloid fibers. These findings define a dual function for Bap, first as a sensor and then as a scaffold protein to promote biofilm development under specific environmental conditions. Since the pH-driven multicellular behavior mediated by Bap occurs in coagulase-negative staphylococci and many other bacteria exploit Bap-like proteins to build a biofilm matrix, the mechanism of amyloid-like aggregation described here may be widespread among pathogenic bacteria.
    Keywords Immunologic diseases. Allergy ; RC581-607 ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 572
    Language English
    Publishing date 2016-06-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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