scholarly journals Modulating Kinetics of the Amyloid-Like Aggregation of S. aureus Phenol-Soluble Modulins by Changes in pH

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Masihuz Zaman ◽  
Maria Andreasen

The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is recognized as one of the most frequent causes of biofilm-associated infections. The recently identified phenol-soluble modulin (PSM) peptides act as the key molecular effectors of staphylococcal biofilm maturation and promote the formation of an aggregated fibril structure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various pH values on the formation of functional amyloids of individual PSM peptides. Here, we combined a range of biophysical, chemical kinetics and microscopic techniques to address the structure and aggregation mechanism of individual PSMs under different conditions. We established that there is a pH-induced switch in PSM aggregation kinetics. Different lag times and growth of fibrils were observed, which indicates that there was no clear correlation between the rates of fibril elongation among different PSMs. This finding confirms that pH can modulate the aggregation properties of these peptides and suggest a deeper understanding of the formation of aggregates, which represents an important basis for strategies to interfere and might help in reducing the risk of biofilm-related infections.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Haikal ◽  
Lei Ortigosa ◽  
Katja Bernfur ◽  
Alexander Svanbergsson ◽  
Sara Linse ◽  
...  

AbstractAggregated α-synuclein (α-syn) is the main constituent of Lewy bodies, the main pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Environmental factors are thought to be potential triggers capable of initiating the aggregation of the otherwise monomeric α-syn. Braak’s seminal work redirected attention to the intestine and recent reports of dysbiosis have highlighted the potential causative role that the microbiome might play in the pathology of PD. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium carried by 30-70% of the general population. It has been shown to produce functional amyloids, called Phenol Soluble Modulins (PSMαs). Here, we studied the kinetics of α-syn aggregation under quiescent conditions in the presence or absence of four different PSMα peptides and observed a remarkable shortening of the lag phase in their presence. Whereas pure α-syn monomer did not aggregate up to 450 h after initiation of the experiment in neither neutral nor mildly acidic buffer, the addition of different PSMα peptides resulted in an almost immediate increase in the Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence. Despite similar peptide sequences, the different PSMα peptides displayed distinct effects on the kinetics of α-syn aggregation. Kinetic analyses of the data suggest that while all four peptides catalyze α-syn aggregation, the underlying mechanisms might differ with a model of nucleation and elongation fitting the α-syn aggregation induced by PSMα2 but not PSMα1. The results of immunogold TEM imply that the aggregates are fibrillar and composed of α-syn. Addition of the co-aggregated materials to HEK cells expressing the A53T α-syn variant fused to GFP was found to catalyze α-syn aggregation and phosphorylation in the cells. Our results provide evidence of a potential trigger of synucleinopathies and could have implications for the prevention of the diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (21) ◽  
pp. 11594
Author(s):  
Caroline Haikal ◽  
Lei Ortigosa Pascual ◽  
Zahra Najarzadeh ◽  
Katja Bernfur ◽  
Alexander Svanbergsson ◽  
...  

Aggregated α-synuclein (α-syn) is the main constituent of Lewy bodies, which are a pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Environmental factors are thought to be potential triggers capable of initiating the aggregation of the otherwise monomeric α-syn. Braak’s seminal work redirected attention to the intestine and recent reports of dysbiosis have highlighted the potential causative role of the microbiome in the initiation of pathology of PD. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium carried by 30–70% of the general population. It has been shown to produce functional amyloids, called phenol soluble modulins (PSMαs). Here, we studied the kinetics of α-syn aggregation under quiescent conditions in the presence or absence of four different PSMα peptides and observed a remarkable shortening of the lag phase in their presence. Whereas pure α-syn monomer did not aggregate up to 450 h after initiation of the experiment in neither neutral nor mildly acidic buffer, the addition of different PSMα peptides resulted in an almost immediate increase in the Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence. Despite similar peptide sequences, the different PSMα peptides displayed distinct effects on the kinetics of α-syn aggregation. Kinetic analyses of the data suggest that all four peptides catalyze α-syn aggregation through heterogeneous primary nucleation. The immunogold electron microscopic analyses showed that the aggregates were fibrillar and composed of α-syn. In addition of the co-aggregated materials to a cell model expressing the A53T α-syn variant fused to GFP was found to catalyze α-syn aggregation and phosphorylation in the cells. Our results provide evidence of a potential trigger of synucleinopathies and could have implications for the prevention of the diseases.


1982 ◽  
Vol 48 (02) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
V M Haver ◽  
A R L Gear

SummaryPlatelet heterogeneity has been studied with a technique called functional fractionation which employs gentle centrifugation to yield subpopulations (“reactive” and “less-reactive” platelets) after exposure to small doses of aggregating agent. Aggregation kinetics of the different platelet populations were investigated by quenched-flow aggregometry. The large, “reactive” platelets were more sensitive to ADP (Ka = 1.74 μM) than the smaller “less-reactive” platelets (Ka = 4.08 μM). However, their maximal rate of aggregation (Vmax, % of platelets aggregating per sec) of 23.3 was significantly lower than the “less-reactive” platelets (Vmax = 34.7). The “reactive” platelets had a 2.2 fold higher level of cyclic AMP.Platelet glycoproteins were labeled using the neuraminidase-galactose oxidase – [H3]-NaBH4 technique. When platelets were labeled after reversible aggregation, the “reactive” platelets showed a two-fold decrease in labeling efficiency (versus control platelets). However, examination of whole cells or membrane preparations from reversibly aggregated platelets revealed no significant difference in Coomassie or PAS (Schiff) staining.These results suggest that the large, “reactive” platelets are more sensitive to ADP but are not hyperaggregable in a kinetic sense. Reversible aggregation may cause a re-orientation of membrane glycoproteins that is apparently not characterized by a major loss of glycoprotein material.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (13) ◽  
pp. 134903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Zaccone ◽  
Daniele Gentili ◽  
Massimo Morbidelli

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 5017
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Polak ◽  
Waldemar Karcz

The fungal toxin fusicoccin (FC) induces rapid cell elongation, proton extrusion and plasma membrane hyperpolarization in maize coleoptile cells. Here, these three parameters were simultaneously measured using non-abraded and non-peeled segments with the incubation medium having access to their lumen. The dose–response curve for the FC-induced growth was sigmoidal shaped with the maximum at 10−6 M over 10 h. The amplitudes of the rapid growth and proton extrusion were significantly higher for FC than those for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The differences between the membrane potential changes that were observed in the presence of FC and IAA relate to the permanent membrane hyperpolarization for FC and transient hyperpolarization for IAA. It was also found that the lag times of the rapid growth, proton extrusion and membrane hyperpolarization were shorter for FC compared to IAA. At 30 °C, the biphasic kinetics of the IAA-induced growth rate could be changed into a monophasic (parabolic) one, which is characteristic for FC-induced rapid growth. It has been suggested that the rates of the initial phase of the FC- and IAA-induced growth involve two common mechanisms that consist of the proton pumps and potassium channels whose contribution to the action of both effectors on the rapid growth is different.


2019 ◽  
Vol 158 ◽  
pp. 4846-4851
Author(s):  
Yaoting Huang ◽  
Chunping Xie ◽  
Chuan Li ◽  
Yongliang Li ◽  
Yulong Ding

1981 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 365 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Stunzi

The reactions of isatin-5-sulfonate anion (si-) which cause a hysteresis in pH titrations were studied by pH-metric and n.m.r, spectroscopic methods. Rapid alkalimetric titrations [I 0.15 M (KNO3),37�] gave the pKa value corresponding to the addition of OH- to si- [pKa(ring) 9.55]. The slow ring opening to the sulfonatoisatate dianion (sia2-) led to a drift of the pH values towards an equilibrium buffer region. Its pKa, value [pKa(eq) 3.44] corresponds to the reaction si-+H2O ↔ sia 2-+H+ Rapid back-titration gave the pKa value of the ring-opened species Hsia- [pKa(open) c. 1.3]. The rate law for the ring opening d[sia]/dt=k2 [siOH](OH)+k1*[si] was obtained from the rate of change of pH. N-Methylisatin-5-sulfonate behaves analogously.


2012 ◽  
Vol 429 ◽  
pp. 325-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amro M. El Badawy ◽  
Kirk G. Scheckel ◽  
Makram Suidan ◽  
Thabet Tolaymat

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