We describe a bacterial two-hybrid system that allows an easy in vivo screening and selection of functional interactions between two proteins. This genetic test is based on the reconstitution, in an Escherichia coli cya strain, of a signal transduction pathway that takes advantage of the positive control exerted by cAMP. Two putative interacting proteins are genetically fused to two complementary fragments, T25 and T18, that constitute the catalytic domain of Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase. Association of the two-hybrid proteins results in functional complementation between T25 and T18 fragments and leads to cAMP synthesis. Cyclic AMP then triggers transcriptional activation of catabolic operons, such as lactose or maltose, that yield a characteristic phenotype. In this genetic test, the involvement of a signaling cascade offers the unique property that association between the hybrid proteins can be spatially separated from the transcriptional activation readout. This permits a versatile design of screening procedures either for ligands that bind to a given ''bait,'' as in the classical yeast two-hybrid system, or for molecules or mutations that block a given interaction between two proteins of interest.

Formation of the Escherichia coli division septum is catalyzed by a number of essential proteins (named Fts) that assemble into a ring-like structure at the future division site. Several of these Fts proteins are intrinsic transmembrane proteins whose functions are largely unknown. Although these proteins appear to be recruited to the division site in a hierarchical order, the molecular interactions underlying the assembly of the cell division machinery remain mostly unspecified. In the present study, we used a bacterial two-hybrid system based on interaction-mediated reconstitution of a cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling cascade to unravel the molecular basis of septum assembly by analyzing the protein interaction network among E. coli cell division proteins. Our results indicate that the Fts proteins are connected to one another through multiple interactions. A deletion mapping analysis carried out with two of these proteins, FtsQ and FtsI, revealed that different regions of the polypeptides are involved in their associations with their partners. Furthermore, we showed that the association between two Fts hybrid proteins could be modulated by the coexpression of a third Fts partner. Altogether, these data suggest that the cell division machinery assembly is driven by the cooperative association among the different Fts proteins to form a dynamic multiprotein structure at the septum site. In addition, our study shows that the cAMP-based two-hybrid system is particularly appropriate for analyzing molecular interactions between membrane proteins.In Escherichia coli, the cell division process, also referred to as cytokinesis, constriction, or septation, is one of the most central yet poorly understood aspects of the bacterial physiology (for reviews, see references 5, 33, and 45). The event takes place at the midcell and starts after the bacterial chromosomal DNA has been duplicated and segregated into two daughter nucleoids. Cell division genes, named fts, have been identified mainly through conditional mutants that form long filamentous cells at nonpermissive temperatures (4, 5). At present, at least fourteen proteins are known to be specifically required for the E. coli cell septation (for reviews, see references 1, 5, 33, 42, and 45). The majority of the Fts proteins are anchored to the cell membrane, and most of them appear to localize to the bacterial septum in a sequential order (for reviews, see references 5, 33, 35, and 40). Fluorescence microscopy studies using immunofluorescence or the green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the Fts proteins have revealed that assembly of the septum starts with the positioning of an FtsZ ring in the cell center. The FtsZ ring is stabilized by FtsA and ZipA, which localize to the septum independently of each other but only in the presence of the FtsZ protein. FtsQ follows FtsK, whose localization requires both FtsA and ZipA proteins, in this hierarchical assembly. Then FtsL, FtsB, FtsW, FtsI, FtsN, and AmiC are successively recruited to the FtsZ ring (for reviews, see refere...

The adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) of Bordetella pertussis is a major virulence factor required for the early phases of lung colonization. It can invade eukaryotic cells where, upon activation by endogenous calmodulin, it catalyzes the formation of unregulated cAMP levels. CyaA intoxication leads to evident toxic effects on macrophages and neutrophils. Here, we demonstrate that CyaA uses the αMβ2 integrin (CD11b/CD18) as a cell receptor. Indeed, the saturable binding of CyaA to the surface of various hematopoietic cell lines correlated with the presence of the αMβ2 integrin on these cells. Moreover, binding of CyaA to various murine cell lines and human neutrophils was specifically blocked by anti-CD11b monoclonal antibodies. The increase of intracellular cAMP level and cell death triggered by CyaA intoxication was also specifically blocked by anti-CD11b monoclonal antibodies. In addition, CyaA bound efficiently and triggered intracellular cAMP increase and cell death in Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with αMβ2 (CD11b/CD18) but not in cells transfected with the vector alone or with the αXβ2 (CD11c/CD18) integrin. Thus, the cellular distribution of CD11b, mostly on neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic and natural killer cells, supports a role for CyaA in disrupting the early, innate antibacterial immune response.

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