Pathogenic bacteria attach to human fibronectin through a tandem β-zipper

Ulrich Schwarz-Linek, Jörn M. Werner, Andrew R. Pickford, Sivashankarappa Gurusiddappa, Jung Hwa Kim, Ewa S. Pilka, John A. G. Briggs, T. Sebastian Gough, Magnus Höök, Iain D. Campbell and Jennifer R. Potts ()
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Ulrich Schwarz-Linek: University of Oxford
Jörn M. Werner: University of Oxford
Andrew R. Pickford: University of Oxford
Sivashankarappa Gurusiddappa: Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Jung Hwa Kim: Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Ewa S. Pilka: University of Oxford
John A. G. Briggs: University of Oxford
T. Sebastian Gough: University of Oxford
Magnus Höök: Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Iain D. Campbell: University of Oxford
Jennifer R. Potts: University of Oxford

Nature, 2003, vol. 423, issue 6936, 177-181

Abstract: Abstract Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, two important human pathogens, target host fibronectin (Fn) in their adhesion to and invasion of host cells1,2. Fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs), anchored in the bacterial cell wall, have multiple Fn-binding repeats3 in an unfolded4,5 region of the protein. The bacterium-binding site in the amino-terminal domain (1–5F1) of Fn contains five sequential Fn type 1 (F1) modules. Here we show the structure of a streptococcal (S. dysgalactiae) FnBP peptide (B3)6,7 in complex with the module pair 1F12F1. This identifies 1F1- and 2F1-binding motifs in B3 that form additional antiparallel β-strands on sequential F1 modules—the first example of a tandem β-zipper. Sequence analyses of larger regions of FnBPs from S. pyogenes and S. aureus reveal a repeating pattern of F1-binding motifs that match the pattern of F1 modules in 1–5F1 of Fn. In the process of Fn-mediated invasion of host cells, therefore, the bacterial proteins seem to exploit the modular structure of Fn by forming extended tandem β-zippers. This work is a vital step forward in explaining the full mechanism of the integrin-dependent2,8 FnBP-mediated invasion of host cells.

Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1038/nature01589

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