Genetic and biophysical studies of diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) and the hyperactive mutant DtxR(E175K) support a multistep model of activation
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Authors: Love, JF; VanderSpek, JC; Marin, V; Guerrero, L; Logan, TM; Murphy, JR
Abstract
The diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) from Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the prototypic member of a superfamily of transition metal ion-activated transcriptional regulators that have been isolated from Gram-positive prokaryotes. Upon binding divalent transition metal ions, the N-terminal domain of DtxR undergoes a dynamic structural organization leading to homodimerization and target DNA binding. We have used site-directed mutagenesis and NMR analysis to probe the mechanism by which apo-DtxR transits from an inactive to a fully active repressor upon metal ion binding. We demonstrate that the ancillary metal-binding site mutant DtxR(H79A) requires higher concentrations of metal ions for activation both in vivo and in vitro, providing a functional correlation to the proposed cooperativity between ancillary and primary binding sites. We also demonstrate that the C-terminal src homology 3 (SH3)-like domain of DtxR functions to modulate repressor activity by (i) binding to the polyprolyl tether region between the N- and C-terminal domains, and (ii) destabilizing the ancillary binding site, leading to full inactivation of the repressor. Finally, we show by NMR analysis that the hyperactive phenotype of DtxR(E175K) results from the stabilization of a structural intermediate in the activation process. Taken together, the data presented support a multistep model for the activation of apo-DtxR by transition metal ions.
Structural and immunological characterization of E. coli derived recombinant CRM197 protein used as carrier in conjugate vaccines
BIOSCIENCE REPORTS
Authors: Mishra, Ravi P. N.; Yadav, Ravi S. P.; Jones, Christopher; Nocadello, Salvatore; Minasov, George; Shuvalova, Ludmilla A.; Anderson, Wayne F.; Goel, Akshay
Abstract
It is established that the immunogenicity of polysaccharides is enhanced by coupling them to carrier proteins. Cross reacting material (CRM197), a nontoxic variant of diphtheria toxin (DT) is widely used carrier protein for polysaccharide conjugate vaccines. Conventionally, CRM197 is isolated by fermentation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 (beta(197)) cultures, which often suffers from low yield. Recently, several recombinant approaches have been reported with robust processes and higher yields, which will improve the affordability of CRM197-based vaccines. Vaccine manufacturers require detailed analytical information to ensure that the CRM197 meets quality standards and regulatory requirements. In the present manuscript we have described detailed structural characteristics of Escherichia coli based recombinant CRM197 (rCRM(197)) carrier protein. The crystal structure of the E. coli based rCRM(197) was found to be identical with the reported crystal structure of the C7 CRM197 produced in C. diphtheriae C7 strain (Protein Data Bank (PDB) ID: 4EA0). The crystal structure of rCRM(197) was determined at 2.3 angstrom resolution and structure was submitted to the PDB with accession number ID 5I82. This is the first report of a crystal structure of E. coli derived recombinant CRM197 carrier protein. Furthermore, the rCRM(197) was conjugated to Vi polysaccharide to generate Typhoid conjugate vaccine (Vi- rCRM(197)) and its immunogenicity was evaluated in Balb/C Mice. The Vi-rCRM(197) conjugate vaccine was found to generate strong primary alpha-Vi antibody response and also showed a booster response after subsequent vaccination in mice. Overall data suggest that E. coli based recombinant CRM197 exhibits structural and immunological similarity with the C7 CRM197 and can be used as a carrier protein in conjugate vaccine development.