Search

Resistance to antibiotics is a serious and worsening threat to human health worldwide, and there is an urgent need to develop new antibiotics that can avert it. One possible solution is the development of compounds that possess multiple modes of action, requiring at least two mutations to acquire resistance. Compound SCH-79797 both avoids resistance and has two mechanisms of action: one inhibiting the folate pathway, and a second described as "membrane permeabilization"; however, the mechanism by which membranes from bacterial cells, but not the host, are disrupted has remained mysterious. The opening of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, which ordinarily serves the physiological role of osmotic emergency release valves gated by hypoosmotic shock, has been previously demonstrated to affect bacterial membrane permeabilization. MscL allows the rapid permeabilization of both ions and solutes through the opening of the largest known gated pore, which has a diameter of 30 Å. We found that SCH-79797 and IRS-16, a more potent derivative, directly bind to the MscL channel and produce membrane permeabilization as a result of its activation. These findings suggest that possessing or adding an MscL-activating component to an antibiotic compound could help to lower toxicity and evade antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MscL is a highly conserved mechanosensitive channel found in the majority of bacterial species, including pathogens. It functions as a biological emergency release valve, jettisoning solutes from the cytoplasm upon acute hypoosmotic stress. It opens the largest known gated pore and has been heralded as an antibacterial target. Although there are no known endogenous ligands, small compounds have recently been shown to specifically bind to and open the channel, leading to decreased cell growth and viability. Their binding site is at the cytoplasmic/membrane and subunit interfaces of the protein, which has been recently been proposed to play an essential role in channel gating. Here, we have targeted this pocket using in silico screening, resulting in the discovery of a new family of compounds, distinct from other known MscL-specific agonists. Our findings extended the study of this functional region, the progression of MscL as a viable drug target, and demonstrated the power of in silico screening for identifying and improving the design of MscL agonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin, a natural compound isolated from the rhizome of turmeric, has been shown to have antibacterial properties. It has several physiological effects on bacteria including an apoptosis-like response involving RecA, membrane permeabilization, inhibiting septation, and it can also work synergistically with other antibiotics. The mechanism by which curcumin permeabilizes the bacterial membrane has been unclear. Most bacterial species contain a Mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, which serves the function of a biological emergency release valve; these large-pore channels open in response to membrane tension from osmotic shifts and, to avoid cell lysis, allow the release of solutes from the cytoplasm. Here we show that the MscL channel underlies the membrane permeabilization by curcumin as well as its synergistic properties with other antibiotics, by allowing access of antibiotics to the cytoplasm; MscL also appears to have an inhibitory role in septation, which is enhanced when activated by curcumin. Author summary: The rhizome of turmeric contains a compound, called curcumin, which has been shown to have several biological activities, including antibacterial properties. Previous studies have found that upon curcumin treatment, bacterial cells become "leaky"; their membranes permeabilized. In addition, curcumin appears to work in synergy with several other antibiotics. Finally, it has been observed that curcumin can lead to bacterial cells that can grow but not divide, thus leading to long filamentous cells with multiple copies of their DNA. But the mechanisms underlying these findings were mysterious. Here we show that curcumin targets a specific protein in the bacterial cell envelope that can open a very large pore—the largest regulated pore known in the biological world. This pore usually is only used in extreme situations as an "emergency release valve" that prevents lysis from osmotic stresses. It is the inappropriate opening of this pore by curcumin that leads to the permeation of the bacterial cell envelope, as well as the synergy with other antibiotics by allowing the antibiotics easier access to the inside of the cell, and even the inhibition of bacterial cell division. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antibiotic resistance crisis is becoming dire, yet in the past several years few potential antibiotics or adjuvants with novel modes of action have been identified. The bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, found in the majority of bacterial species, including pathogens, normally functions as an emergency release valve, sensing membrane tension upon low-osmotic stress and discharging cytoplasmic solutes before cell lysis. Opening the huge ~30Å diameter pore of MscL inappropriately is detrimental to the cell, allowing solutes from and even passage of drugs into to cytoplasm. Thus, MscL is a potential novel drug target. However, there are no known natural agonists, and small compounds that modulate MscL activity are just now being identified. Here we describe a small compound, K05, that specifically modulates MscL activity and we compare results with those obtained for the recently characterized MscL agonist 011A. While the structure of K05 only vaguely resembles 011A, many of the findings, including the binding pocket, are similar. On the other hand, both in vivo and molecular dynamic simulations indicate that the two compounds modulate MscL activity in significantly different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The bacterial MscL channel normally functions as an emergency release valve discharging cytoplasmic solutes upon osmotic stress. The channel opens and passes molecules up to 30 Å and its pore is the largest of any gated channel. Opening the MscL pore inappropriately is detrimental to the bacterial cell, suggesting MscL as a potential novel drug target. A small‐molecule compound, 011A, has been shown to increase sensitivity of the Escherichia coli MscL channel, slow growth, and even decrease viability of quiescent cultures. The mscL gene is highly conserved and found in the vast majority of bacterial species, including pathogens. Here, we test the hypothesis that 011A can influence the growth and viability of other bacterial species, specifically Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium smegmatis, in a MscL‐dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the 011A compound can increase potency of other antibiotics, presumably by permeabilizing the membrane and allowing easier access of the antibiotic into the cytoplasm. Thus, MscL activators have potential as novel broad‐spectrum antibiotics or adjuvants that work with antibiotics to selectively allow passage across bacterial membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have some generalized physical understanding of how ion channels interact with surrounding lipids but few detailed descriptions on how interactions of particular amino acids with contacting lipids may regulate gating. Here we discovered a structure-specific interaction between an amino acid and inner-leaflet lipid that governs the gating transformations of TRPV4 (transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4). Many cation channels use a S4-S5 linker to transmit stimuli to the gate. At the start of TRPV4's linker helix is leucine 596. A hydrogen bond between the indole of W733 of the TRP helix and the backbone oxygen of L596 secures the helix/linker contact, which acts as a latch maintaining channel closure. The modeled side chain of L596 interacts with the inner lipid leaflet near the polar-nonpolar interface in our model--an interaction that we explored by mutagenesis. We examined the outward currents of TRPV4-expressing Xenopus oocyte upon depolarizations as well as phenotypes of expressing yeast cells. Making this residue less hydrophobic (L596A/G/W/Q/K) reduces open probability [Po; loss-offunction (LOF)], likely due to altered interactions at the polar-nonpolar interface. L596I raises Po [gain-of-function (GOF)], apparently by placing its methyl group further inward and receiving stronger water repulsion. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that the distance between the levels of α-carbons of H-bonded residues L596 and W733 is shortened in the LOFs and lengthened in the GOFs, strengthening or weakening the linker/TRP helix latch, respectively. These results highlight that L596 lipid attraction counteracts the latch bond in a tug-of-war to tune the Po of TRPV4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary mechanism of action of the antibiotic dihydrostreptomycin is binding to and modifying the function of the bacterial ribosome, thus leading to decreased and aberrant translation of proteins; however, the routes by which it enters the bacterial cell are largely unknown. The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, is found in the vast majority of bacterial species, where it serves as an emergency release valve rescuing the cell from sudden decreases in external osmolarity. While it is known that MscL expression increases the potency of dihydrostreptomycin, it has remained unclear if this effect is due to a direct interaction. Here, we use a combination of genetic screening, MD simulations, and biochemical and mutational approaches to determine if dihydrostreptomycin directly interacts with MscL. Our data strongly suggest that dihydrostreptomycin binds to a specific site on MscL and modifies its conformation, thus allowing the passage of K+ and glutamate out of, and dihydrostreptomycin into, the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanosensitive channels are present in all living organisms and are thought to underlie the senses of touch and hearing as well as various important physiological functions like osmoregulation and vasoregulation. The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) from Escherichia coli was the first protein shown to encode mechanosensitive channel activity and serves as a paradigm for how a channel senses and responds to mechanical stimuli. MscL plays a role in osmoprotection in E. coli, acting as an emergency release valve that is activated by membrane tension due to cell swelling after an osmotic down-shock. Using an osmotically fragile strain in an osmotic down-shock assay, channel functionality can be directly determined in vivo. In addition, using thiol reagents and expressed MscL proteins with a single cysteine substitution, we have shown that targeted post-translational modifications can be performed, and that any alterations that lead to dysfunctional proteins can be identified by this in vivo assay. Here, we present the results of such a scan performed on 113 MscL cysteine mutants using five different sulfhydryl-reacting probes to confer different charges or hydrophobicity to each site. We assessed which of these targeted modifications affected channel function and the top candidates were further studied using patch clamp to directly determine how channel activity was affected. This comprehensive screen has identified many residues that are critical for channel function as well as highlighted MscL domains and residues that undergo the most drastic environmental changes upon gating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, has been proposed as a triggered nanovalve to be used in drug release and other nanodevices. It is a small homopentameric bacterial protein that has the largest gated pore known: greater than 30 Å. Large molecules, even small proteins can be released through MscL. Although MscL normally gates in response to membrane tension, early studies found that hydrophilic or charged residue substitutions near the constriction of the channel leads to pore opening. Researchers have successfully changed the modality of MscL to open to stimuli such as light by chemically modifying a single residue, G22, within the MscL pore. Here, by utilizing in vivo, liposome efflux, and patch clamp assays we compared modification of G22 with that of another neighboring residue, G26, and demonstrate that modifying G26 may be a better choice for triggered nanovalves used for triggered vesicular release of compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) from E. coli serves as an emergency release valve allowing the cell to survive acute osmotic downshock. It is one of the best studied mechanosensitive channels and serves as a paradigm for how a protein can sense and respond to membrane tension. Two MscL crystal structures of the orthologs M. tuberculosis and S. aureus have been solved showing pentameric and tetrameric structures, respectively. Several studies followed to understand whether the discrepancy in their stoichiometry was a species difference or a consequence of the protein manipulation for crystallization. Two independent studies now agree that the full-length S. aureus MscL is actually a pentamer, not tetramer. While detergents appear to play a role in modifying the oligomeric state of the protein, a cytoplasmic helical bundle has also been implicated. Here, we evaluate the role of the C-terminal region of S. aureus MscL in the oligomerization of the channel in native membranes by using an in vivo disulfide-trapping technique. We find that the oligomeric state of S. aureus MscLs with different C-terminal truncations, including the one used to obtain the tetrameric S. aureus MscL crystal structure, are pentamers in vivo. Thus, the C-terminal domain of the S. aureus protein only plays a critical role in the oligomeric state of the SaMscL protein when it is solubilized in detergent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL is the best-studied mechanosensor, thus serving as a paradigm of how a protein senses and responds to mechanical force. Models for the transition of Escherichia coli MscL from closed to open states propose a tilting of the transmembrane domains in the plane of the membrane, suggesting dynamic protein-lipid interactions. Here, we used a rapid in vivo assay to assess the function of channels that were post-translationally modified at several different sites in a region just distal to the cytoplasmic end of the second transmembrane helix. We utilized multiple probes with various affinities for the membrane environment. The in vivo functional data, combined with site-directed mutagenesis, single-channel analyses, and tryptophan fluorescence measurements, confirmed that lipid interactions within this region are critical for MscL gating. The data suggest a model in which this region acts as an anchor for the transmembrane domain tilting during gating. Furthermore, the conservation of analogous motifs among many other channels suggests a conserved protein-lipid dynamic mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure of an open form of the Escherichia coli MscS mechanosensitive channel was recently solved. However, the conformation of the closed state and the gating transition remain uncharacterized. The pore-lining transmembrane helix contains a conserved glycine- and alanine-rich motif that forms a helix-helix interface. We show that introducing 'knobs' on the smooth glycine face by replacing glycine with alanine, and substituting conserved alanines with larger residues, increases the pressure required for gating. Creation of a glycine-glycine interface lowers activation pressure. The importance of residues Gly104, Ala106 and Gly108, which flank the hydrophobic seal, is demonstrated. A new structural model is proposed for the closed-to-open transition that involves rotation and tilt of the pore-lining helices. Introduction of glycine at Ala106 validated this model by acting as a powerful suppressor of defects seen with mutations at Gly104 and Gly108. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central regulation of somatosensory signals has been extensively studied, but little is known about their regulation in the periphery. Given the widespread exposure of the skin sensory terminals to the environment, it is of interest to explore how somatosensory sensitivity is affected by changes in properties of the skin. In the leech, the annuli that subdivide the skin can be erected under the control of the annulus erector (AE) motoneurons. To analyze whether this surface change influences mechanosensory sensitivity, we studied the responses of low threshold mechanosensory T cells to mechanical stimulation of the skin as AE motoneurons were activated. In segments of the body wall connected to the corresponding ganglion and submerged in an aqueous environment, T cells responded to localized bubbling on the skin and to water flow parallel to its surface. Excitation of AE motoneurons diminished these responses in a way that depended on the motoneuron firing frequency. Video recordings established that the range of AE firing frequencies that produced effective annulus erection coincided with that influencing T cell responses. In isolated ganglia, AE firing had no effect on T cell excitability, suggesting that annulus erection diminished T cell responsiveness to mechanical input. Counteracting this effect, mechanosensory inputs inhibited AE motoneurons. However, because depolarization of AE cells caused a decrease in their input resistance, the more active the motoneuron, the less sensitive it became to inhibitory signals. Thus when brought to fire, AE motoneurons would stay "committed" to a high activity level, and this would limit sensory responsiveness to incoming mechanical signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]