CesT is a multi-effector chaperone and recruitment factor required for the efficient type III secretion of both LEE- and non-LEE-encoded effectors of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Mol Microbiol. 2005 Sep;57(6):1762-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04802.x.

Abstract

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an intestinal attaching and effacing pathogen that utilizes a type III secretion system (T3SS) for the delivery of effectors into host cells. The chaperone CesT has been shown to bind and stabilize the type III translocated effectors Tir and Map in the bacterial cytoplasm prior to their delivery into host cells. In this study we demonstrate a role for CesT in effector recruitment to the membrane embedded T3SS. CesT-mediated effector recruitment was dependent on the presence of the T3SS membrane-associated ATPase EscN. EPEC DeltacesT carrying a C-terminal CesT variant, CesT(E142G), exhibited normal cytoplasmic Tir stability function, but was less efficient in secreting Tir, further implicating CesT in type III secretion. In vivo co-immunoprecipitation studies using CesT-FLAG containing EPEC lysates demonstrated that CesT interacts with Tir and EscN, consistent with the notion of CesT recruiting Tir to the T3SS. CesT was also shown to be required for the efficient secretion of several type III effectors encoded within and outside the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) in addition to Tir and Map. Furthermore, a CesT affinity column was shown to specifically retain multiple effector proteins from EPEC culture supernatants. These findings indicate that CesT is centrally involved in recruiting multiple type III effectors to the T3SS via EscN for efficient secretion, and functionally redefine the role of CesT in multiple type III effector interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / metabolism
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli / pathogenicity
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Chaperones / chemistry
  • Molecular Chaperones / genetics
  • Molecular Chaperones / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Phosphoproteins / genetics
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Cell Surface / genetics
  • Receptors, Cell Surface / metabolism

Substances

  • CesT protein, E coli
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • LEE protein, E coli
  • Molecular Chaperones
  • Peptides
  • Phosphoproteins
  • Receptors, Cell Surface
  • Tir protein, E coli
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases