文章基本信息

标题：Unique lipid anchor attaches Vi antigen capsule to the surface of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi
本地全文：下载
作者：Sean D. Liston ; Olga G. Ovchinnikova ; Chris Whitfield 等
期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2016
卷号：113
期号：24
页码：6719-6724
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1524665113
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Polysaccharide capsules are surface structures that are critical for the virulence of many Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is the etiological agent of typhoid fever. It produces a capsular polysaccharide known as “Vi antigen,” which is composed of nonstoichiometrically O-acetylated α-1,4-linked N-acetylgalactosaminuronic acid residues. This glycan is a component of currently available vaccines. The genetic locus for Vi antigen production is also present in soil bacteria belonging to the genus Achromobacter. Vi antigen assembly follows a widespread general strategy with a characteristic glycan export step involving an ATP-binding cassette transporter. However, Vi antigen producers lack the enzymes that build the conserved terminal glycolipid characterizing other capsules using this method. Achromobacter species possess a Vi antigen-specific depolymerase enzyme missing in S. enterica Typhi, and we exploited this enzyme to isolate acylated Vi antigen termini. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed a reducing terminal N-acetylhexosamine residue modified with two β-hydroxyl acyl chains. This terminal structure resembles one half of lipid A, the hydrophobic portion of bacterial lipopolysaccharides. The VexE protein encoded in the Vi antigen biosynthesis locus shares similarity with LpxL, an acyltransferase from lipid A biosynthesis. In the absence of VexE, Vi antigen is produced, but its physical properties are altered, its export is impaired, and a Vi capsule structure is not assembled on the cell surface. The structure of the lipidated terminus dictates a unique assembly mechanism and has potential implications in pathogenesis and vaccine production.
关键词：polysaccharide capsule ; Vi antigen ; Salmonella ; glycolipid ; polysaccharide export