No abstract

The cbsA gene of Lactobacillus crispatus strain JCM 5810, encoding a protein that mediates adhesiveness to collagens, was characterized and expressed in Escherichia coli. The cbsA open reading frame encoded a signal sequence of 30 amino acids and a mature polypeptide of 410 amino acids with typical features of a bacterial S-layer protein. The cbsA gene product was expressed as a His tag fusion protein, purified by affinity chromatography, and shown to bind solubilized as well as immobilized type I and IV collagens. Three other Lactobacillus S-layer proteins, SlpA, CbsB, and SlpnB, bound collagens only weakly, and sequence comparisons of CbsA with these S-layer proteins were used to select sites in cbsA where deletions and mutations were introduced. In addition, hybrid S-layer proteins that contained the N or the C terminus from CbsA, SlpA, or SlpnB as well as N-and C-terminally truncated peptides from CbsA were constructed by gene fusion. Analysis of these molecules revealed the major collagen-binding region within the N-terminal 287 residues and a weaker type I collagen-binding region in the C terminus of the CbsA molecule. The mutated or hybrid CbsA molecules and peptides that failed to polymerize into a periodic S-layer did not bind collagens, suggesting that the crystal structure with a regular array is optimal for expression of collagen binding by CbsA. Strain JCM 5810 was found to contain another S-layer gene termed cbsB that was 44% identical in sequence to cbsA. RNA analysis showed that cbsA, but not cbsB, was transcribed under laboratory conditions. S-layer-protein-expressing cells of strain JCM 5810 adhered to collagen-containing regions in the chicken colon, suggesting that CbsAmediated collagen binding represents a true tissue adherence property of L. crispatus.

The surface (S)-layer protein of Lactobacillus brevis was isolated, purified, and characterized. The S-layer protein is the major protein of the cell, with an apparent molecular mass of 46 kDa in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Immunogold electron microscopy with polyclonal antiserum against the isolated 46-kDa protein was used to confirm the surface location of this protein. N-terminal amino acid sequences of the intact 46-kDa protein and its tryptic peptides were determined. The gene of the S-layer protein was amplified from the genome of L. brevis by polymerase chain reaction with oligonucleotides, synthesized according to the N-terminal amino acid sequences, as primers. The polymerase chain reaction fragments containing the entire S-layer gene and its regulatory regions were sequenced. Nucleic acid sequence analysis revealed one open reading frame with a capacity to encode a protein of 48,159 Da. From the regulatory region of the gene, two subsequent promoters and a ribosome binding site, showing typical features of prokaryotic consensus sequences, were found. The coding region contained a characteristic gram-positive-type signal peptide of 30 amino acids. Removal of the signal peptide results in a polypeptide of 435 amino acids, which is in excellent agreement with the size of the S-layer protein determined by SDS-PAGE. The size and the 5' end analyses of the S-layer transcripts confirmed the monocistronic nature of the S-layer operon and the functionality of the two promoters found.

Interferon-inducible Mx proteins belong to the family of large GTPases and are highly homologous with dynamins within their GTP-binding domain. Cytoplasmically localized human MxA protein mediates resistance to influenza and several other viruses, whereas human MxB protein has not been found to have any antiviral activity. Here we show that MxB protein is found both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus, where it is localized in a granular pattern in the heterochromatin region beneath the nuclear envelope. Transfection experiments in COS cells of N-terminally deleted MxB constructs revealed a functional nuclear localization signal within the first 24 N-terminal amino acids. Nuclear 78-kDa and cytoplasmic 76-kDa forms of MxB protein were found in all of the cell lines studied and in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. MxB protein proved to be a functional GTPase with activity comparable to that of MxA protein. N-terminally truncated (delta1-82) MxB protein lacking both the nuclear localization signal and a proline-rich domain had almost completely lost its GTPase activity. Analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells suggested that MxB protein expression is strictly regulated by interferon-alpha. This is the first documentation that human Mx protein resides in the nucleus. It also emphasizes that there are considerable differences in the localization and structure of functional domains within Mx proteins.