Publications

• Non-acid-fastness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis DeltakasB mutant correlates with the cell envelope electron density.

  Yamada H., Bhatt A., Danev R., Fujiwara N., Maeda S., Mitarai S., Chikamatsu K., Aono A., Nitta K., Jacobs W.R. Jr., Nagayama K.

  The acid-fastness is the most important and the most specific characteristics in mycobacteria, the mechanism of which is not clear but may be attributed to the lipid rich cell wall of this bacterium. While the exact component(s) responsible for this staining method remained unidentified, a Mycobac ... >> More

  The acid-fastness is the most important and the most specific characteristics in mycobacteria, the mechanism of which is not clear but may be attributed to the lipid rich cell wall of this bacterium. While the exact component(s) responsible for this staining method remained unidentified, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutant, attenuated strain that produced shorter mycolic acids with defects in trans-cyclopropanation was shown to be acid fast negative. In this study, we examined the ultrastructure of the cell envelope (CE) of the mutant strain ΔkasB (missing a beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis), the parental CDC1551 (wild type strain) and kasB complemented strain, and compared ultrastructural differences among them with conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (CEM). Conventional TEM revealed that there were no detectable differences in the thickness of the cell envelope among three strains (wild-type: 43.35 ± 6.13 nm; ΔkasB: 45.98 ± 11.32 nm; complement: 40.71 ± 6.3 nm). However, CEM data demonstrated that the region between the inner and outer membranes of the mutant strain, which is composed mainly of cell wall anchored mycolic acids (MA), showed a significant decrease in electron density as compared to the wild type and kasB complement strain (567.1 ± 372.7 vs. 301.4 ± 262.1, or vs. 235.2 ± 174.9, p < 0.02 or p < 0.001, respectively). These results suggested that altered MA patterns in the kasB mutant may have affected the packing of the lipid rich layer of the M. tuberculosis cell envelope, resulting in a reduced electron density of this layer as seen by CEM and loss of acid-fastness in light microscopical observation, and we propose a novel model of the cell envelope structure in tubercle bacilli. << Less

  Tuberculosis 92:351-357(2012) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Requirement for kasB in Mycobacterium mycolic acid biosynthesis, cell wall impermeability and intracellular survival: implications for therapy.

  Gao L.Y., Laval F., Lawson E.H., Groger R.K., Woodruff A., Morisaki J.H., Cox J.S., Daffe M., Brown E.J.

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one-third of the world's population and causes two million deaths annually. The unusually low permeability of its cell wall contributes to the ability of M. tuberculosis to grow within host macrophages, a property required for pathogenesis of infection. Mycobacte ... >> More

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one-third of the world's population and causes two million deaths annually. The unusually low permeability of its cell wall contributes to the ability of M. tuberculosis to grow within host macrophages, a property required for pathogenesis of infection. Mycobacterium marinum is an established model for discovering genes involved in mycobacterial infection. Mycobacterium marinum mutants with transposon insertions in the beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase B gene (kasB) grew poorly in macrophages, although growth in vitro was unaffected. Detailed analyses by thin-layer chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and chemical degradations showed that the kasB mutants synthesize mycolic acids that are 2-4 carbons shorter than wild type; the defect was localized to the proximal portion of the meromycolate chain. In addition, these mutants showed a significant (approximately 30%) reduction in the abundance of keto-mycolates, with a slight compensatory increase of both alpha- and methoxy-mycolates. Despite these small changes in mycolate length and composition, the kasB mutants exhibited strikingly altered cell wall permeability, leading to a marked increase in susceptibility to lipophilic antibiotics and the host antimicrobial molecules defensin and lysozyme. The abnormalities of the kasB mutants were fully complemented by expressing M. tuberculosis kasB, but not by the closely related gene kasA. These studies identify kasB as a novel target for therapeutic intervention in mycobacterial diseases. << Less

  Mol. Microbiol. 49:1547-1563(2003) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Phosphorylation of KasB regulates virulence and acid-fastness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

  Vilcheze C., Molle V., Carrere-Kremer S., Leiba J., Mourey L., Shenai S., Baronian G., Tufariello J., Hartman T., Veyron-Churlet R., Trivelli X., Tiwari S., Weinrick B., Alland D., Guerardel Y., Jacobs W.R. Jr., Kremer L.

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli display two signature features: acid-fast staining and the capacity to induce long-term latent infections in humans. However, the mechanisms governing these two important processes remain largely unknown. Ser/Thr phosphorylation has recently emerged as an importa ... >> More

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli display two signature features: acid-fast staining and the capacity to induce long-term latent infections in humans. However, the mechanisms governing these two important processes remain largely unknown. Ser/Thr phosphorylation has recently emerged as an important regulatory mechanism allowing mycobacteria to adapt their cell wall structure/composition in response to their environment. Herein, we evaluated whether phosphorylation of KasB, a crucial mycolic acid biosynthetic enzyme, could modulate acid-fast staining and virulence. Tandem mass spectrometry and site-directed mutagenesis revealed that phosphorylation of KasB occurred at Thr334 and Thr336 both in vitro and in mycobacteria. Isogenic strains of M. tuberculosis with either a deletion of the kasB gene or a kasB_T334D/T336D allele, mimicking constitutive phosphorylation of KasB, were constructed by specialized linkage transduction. Biochemical and structural analyses comparing these mutants to the parental strain revealed that both mutant strains had mycolic acids that were shortened by 4-6 carbon atoms and lacked trans-cyclopropanation. Together, these results suggested that in M. tuberculosis, phosphorylation profoundly decreases the condensing activity of KasB. Structural/modeling analyses reveal that Thr334 and Thr336 are located in the vicinity of the catalytic triad, which indicates that phosphorylation of these amino acids would result in loss of enzyme activity. Importantly, the kasB_T334D/T336D phosphomimetic and deletion alleles, in contrast to the kasB_T334A/T336A phosphoablative allele, completely lost acid-fast staining. Moreover, assessing the virulence of these strains indicated that the KasB phosphomimetic mutant was attenuated in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice following aerosol infection. This attenuation was characterized by the absence of lung pathology. Overall, these results highlight for the first time the role of Ser/Thr kinase-dependent KasB phosphorylation in regulating the later stages of mycolic acid elongation, with important consequences in terms of acid-fast staining and pathogenicity. << Less

  PLoS Pathog. 10:e1004115-e1004115(2014) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Purification and biochemical characterization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthases KasA and KasB.

  Schaeffer M.L., Agnihotri G., Volker C., Kallender H., Brennan P.J., Lonsdale J.T.

  Mycolic acids are vital components of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall, and enzymes involved in their formation represent attractive targets for the discovery of novel anti-tuberculosis agents. Biosynthesis of the fatty acyl chains of mycolic acids involves two fatty acid synthetic systems ... >> More

  Mycolic acids are vital components of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall, and enzymes involved in their formation represent attractive targets for the discovery of novel anti-tuberculosis agents. Biosynthesis of the fatty acyl chains of mycolic acids involves two fatty acid synthetic systems, the multifunctional polypeptide fatty acid synthase I (FASI), which performs de novo fatty acid synthesis, and the dissociated FASII system, which consists of monofunctional enzymes, and acyl carrier protein (ACP) and elongates FASI products to long chain mycolic acid precursors. In this study, we present the initial characterization of purified KasA and KasB, two beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase (KAS) enzymes of the M. tuberculosis FASII system. KasA and KasB were expressed in E. coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Both enzymes showed activity typical of bacterial KASs, condensing an acyl-ACP with malonyl-ACP. Consistent with the proposed role of FASII in mycolic acid synthesis, analysis of various acyl-ACP substrates indicated KasA and KasB had higher specificity for long chain acyl-ACPs containing at least 16 carbons. Activity of KasA and KasB increased with use of M. tuberculosis AcpM, suggesting that structural differences between AcpM and E. coli ACP may affect their recognition by the enzymes. Both enzymes were sensitive to KAS inhibitors cerulenin and thiolactomycin. These results represent important steps in characterizing KasA and KasB as targets for antimycobacterial drug discovery. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 276:47029-47037(2001) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 1 other entry.

• Deletion of kasB in Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes loss of acid-fastness and subclinical latent tuberculosis in immunocompetent mice.

  Bhatt A., Fujiwara N., Bhatt K., Gurcha S.S., Kremer L., Chen B., Chan J., Porcelli S.A., Kobayashi K., Besra G.S., Jacobs W.R. Jr.

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, has two distinguishing characteristics: its ability to stain acid-fast and its ability to cause long-term latent infections in humans. Although this distinctive staining characteristic has often been attributed to its lipid-rich cell ... >> More

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, has two distinguishing characteristics: its ability to stain acid-fast and its ability to cause long-term latent infections in humans. Although this distinctive staining characteristic has often been attributed to its lipid-rich cell wall, the specific dye-retaining components were not known. Here we report that targeted deletion of kasB, one of two M. tuberculosis genes encoding distinct beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthases involved in mycolic acid synthesis, results in loss of acid-fast staining. Biochemical and structural analyses revealed that the DeltakasB mutant strain synthesized mycolates with shorter chain lengths. An additional and unexpected outcome of kasB deletion was the loss of ketomycolic acid trans-cyclopropanation and a drastic reduction in methoxymycolic acid trans-cyclopropanation, activities usually associated with the trans-cyclopropane synthase CmaA2. Although deletion of kasB also markedly altered the colony morphology and abolished classic serpentine growth (cording), the most profound effect of kasB deletion was the ability of the mutant strain to persist in infected immunocompetent mice for up to 600 days without causing disease or mortality. This long-term persistence of DeltakasB represents a model for studying latent M. tuberculosis infections and suggests that this attenuated strain may represent a valuable vaccine candidate against tuberculosis. << Less

  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104:5157-5162(2007) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• The condensing activities of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis type II fatty acid synthase are differentially regulated by phosphorylation.

  Molle V., Brown A.K., Besra G.S., Cozzone A.J., Kremer L.

  Phosphorylation of proteins by Ser/Thr protein kinases (STPKs) has recently become of major physiological importance because of its possible involvement in virulence of bacterial pathogens. Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis has eleven STPKs, the nature and function of the substrates of these enz ... >> More

  Phosphorylation of proteins by Ser/Thr protein kinases (STPKs) has recently become of major physiological importance because of its possible involvement in virulence of bacterial pathogens. Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis has eleven STPKs, the nature and function of the substrates of these enzymes remain largely unknown. In this work, we have identified for the first time STPK substrates in M. tuberculosis forming part of the type II fatty acid synthase (FAS-II) system involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis: the malonyl-CoA::AcpM transacylase mtFabD, and the beta-ketoacyl AcpM synthases KasA and KasB. All three enzymes were phosphorylated in vitro by different kinases, suggesting a complex network of interactions between STPKs and these substrates. In addition, both KasA and KasB were efficiently phosphorylated in M. bovis BCG each at different sites and could be dephosphorylated by the M. tuberculosis Ser/Thr phosphatase PstP. Enzymatic studies revealed that, whereas phosphorylation decreases the activity of KasA in the elongation process of long chain fatty acids synthesis, this modification enhances that of KasB. Such a differential effect of phosphorylation may represent an unusual mechanism of FAS-II system regulation, allowing pathogenic mycobacteria to produce full-length mycolates, which are required for adaptation and intracellular survival in macrophages. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 281:30094-30103(2006) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 2 other entries.