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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2005, p. 1145-1149, Vol. 49, No. 3
0066-4804/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.49.3.1145-1149.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université My Ismail, Meknès, Morocco,1 Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire Numérique, Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux,2 Centre d'Ingénierie des Protéines, Institut de Chimie, Université de Liège, Sart Tilman (Liège), Belgium3
Received 25 June 2004/ Returned for modification 28 August 2004/ Accepted 25 October 2004
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In many gram-negative bacteria, the presence of penicillin or other ß-lactam antibiotics outside the cell induces the synthesis of the chromosomal AmpC ß-lactamase (20). The inducible ampC ß-lactamase gene is transcriptionally controlled by the divergently transcribed regulator gene ampR (15). AmpR is a DNA-binding protein belonging to the LysR superfamily (10), and it has two regulatory properties: (i) in the absence of ß-lactam inducer, AmpR is complexed by UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide and acts as a repressor; (ii) in the presence of a ß-lactam antibiotic, the anhydro-MurNAc-oligopeptide (penta-, tetra-, and tripeptides) (5) accumulates in the cytoplasm by concomitant inhibition of membrane D,D-peptidases and the activation of the autolytic system, displaces the UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide ligand, and converts AmpR into an activator, so that the AmpC ß-lactamase is produced (12). The inactivation of ampG by mutation or deletion confers noninducible and microconstitutive ß-lactamase phenotypes to the bacterial cell (14, 16). These results clearly demonstrate the links between ß-lactamase induction and peptidoglycan recycling. The E. coli ampG gene has been cloned (16) and encodes a 491-amino-acid protein with a molecular mass of 53 kDa. Along the AmpG primary structure, several segments have been identified, and the AmpG protein was predicted to be an integral membrane protein, with 10 transmembrane segments (16).
Our interest in AmpG was stimulated by the fact that this peptidoglycan-specific permease could be used to transport new drugs mimicking the murein recycled compounds into the cytoplasm. These new compounds could directly or indirectly inhibit an enzyme involved in the peptidoglycan biosynthesis. In this way, and to better understand the AmpG transport mechanism, we determined the membrane topology of the AmpG protein by using the ß-lactamase fusion procedure described by Broome-Smith et al. (2).
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helices in AmpG were identified by a hydrophobic moment plot (7). In this approach, the prediction is achieved by computing the mean hydrophobic moment (<µ>) and the mean hydrophobicity index (<H>) for each possible peptide segments of 11 residues along the AmpG sequence. Following these values, each undecapeptide segment can be predicted to be (i) a monomeric transmembrane segment (T), (ii) a transmembrane segment which could oligomerize (multimeric transmembrane segment or M), or (iii) an amphiphilic segment (S) (6, 7). Bacterial strains, plasmids, DNA methods, and growth conditions. The strains and plasmids used in this study are listed in Table 1. For cell selection, kanamycin and chloramphenicol were used at 50 and 30 µg ml1, respectively. Ampicillin was used at 100 µg ml1 for PCR-Script SK selection.
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TABLE 1. Bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study
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A 1,130-kb DNA fragment containing the blaM coding region was PCR amplified with the pJBS633 plasmid as template and two primers, blaM_Up (5'TAA GGA TCC TGA GAG CTC CGT CAC CCA GAA ACG3') and blaM_Down (5'CTA GAA TTC GGT ATC TGC GCT CTG CTG AA3') (the first codon of the blaM coding region is underlined, and BamHI, SacI, and EcoRI sites are in boldface), designed to introduce flanking BamHI-SacI and EcoRI sites. The amplified fragment was cloned into PCR-Script SK-Cm plasmid. After the amplified sequence was checked by DNA sequencing, the BamHI- and EcoRI-digested fragment was subcloned into the corresponding sites of the pYZ4 plasmid, generating pCIPblaM. In this construct, the blaM gene is not expressed but its 5' end is flanked by NcoI, BamHI, and SacI unique restriction sites (Fig. 1).
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FIG. 1. Sequence data related to plasmid pCIPblaM. A DNA fragment containing the blaM coding region was PCR amplified with pJBS633 as template and with two primers designed to introduce flanking BamHI-SacI and EcoRI sites. The amplified fragment was cloned into PCR-Script SK-Cm plasmid. After the amplified sequence was checked by DNA sequencing, the BamHI- and EcoRI-digested fragment was subcloned into the corresponding sites of the pYZ4 plasmid, generating pCIPblaM. The blaM gene is not expressed in this construct, but its 5' end is flanked by NcoI, BamHI, and SacI unique restriction sites, shown in the sequence in boldface type. For more information, see the text.
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TABLE 2. Oligonucleotides used for AmpG-TEM hybrid productiona
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The ampicillin resistance of individual cells of E. coli XL1 Blue MR harboring the pCIPFusx plasmids was determined by plating appropriate dilutions of exponential phase cultures onto Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates containing 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and 200 µg of ampicillin ml1. The MIC of ampicillin was estimated as the lowest inhibitory concentration that inhibits cell growth.
Cellular compartments and ß-lactamase activity. The periplasmic, cytoplasmic, and membrane fractions of the cells were obtained by lysozyme treatment as described by Lindström et al. (17). ß-Lactamase activity was determined by using nitrocefin as substrate (21).
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FIG. 2. Prediction of E. coli AmpG transmembrane segments. Eisenberg prediction symbols T, M, and S represent monomeric transmembrane segments, multimeric transmembrane segments, and amphiphilic helices, respectively. These symbols are placed at the positions corresponding to the centers of the sliding spans of 11 residues used to perform the prediction. The segments corresponding to the thick lines under the amino acid sequence and including the Eisenberg symbols represent the length of the predicted transmembrane segment by the following rule: three consecutive M or T symbols are required for a nucleus of transmembrane segment. TSx represents hydrophobic segments deduced from the Eisenberg analysis. Arrows indicate the positions of AmpG-Bla M fusions (for details, see Table 2 and the text). The Gly-Asp substitutions in the three characterized AmpG mutants yielding a noninducible ß-lactamase phenotype are marked by asterisks (for details, see the text and reference 19).
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Fusion sites (Fig. 2) were chosen to be located in the middle of the putative cytoplasmic or periplasmic loops (F2 to F14) (Fig. 2) connecting hydrophobic segments deduced by hydrophobic moment plot analysis or at the C-terminal end of AmpG (F1). E. coli XL1 Blue MR harboring pCIPFusx-derivative plasmids (pCIPFus1 to pCIPFus14, Table 1) and carrying ampG-x-blaM hybrids was selected for its ability to grow on LB agar plates containing 50 µg of kanamycin ml1. The expression of the ampG-x-blaM hybrids in these recombinant E. coli cells was highlighted by their ability to grow when patched onto LB agar containing 10 µg of ampicillin ml1, 50 µg of kanamycin ml1, and 1 mM IPTG. Indeed, under these conditions, ampicillin resistance was independent of the localization (cytosolic or periplasmic) of the ß-lactamase moiety (2). All of the fusions constructed conferred ampicillin resistance in patch screening, thereby clearly indicating that they all expressed ampG-x-blaM fusions.
To assess the cytoplasmic or periplasmic location of the ß-lactamase moiety, the MIC of ampicillin for single cells (single cell screening) was determined by plating appropriate dilutions of exponential cell cultures on LB agar plates containing 10 µg of ampicillin ml1, 50 µg of kanamycin ml1, and 1 mM IPTG. Under these conditions, the failure to confer ampicillin resistance indicates that the BlaM moieties of the fusions are cytoplasmic. In contrast, the BlaM moieties of the fusion proteins that conferred ampicillin resistance are expected to be translocated across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane and exposed in the periplasm. This was the case for AmpG-x-BlaM fusions at amino acids S457, A322, G258, Q106, and E42, which allowed growth on plates containing an ampicillin concentration of
40 µg ml1 (Table 2). The fusions at amino acids T491, A420, G380, T352, S287, T200, G172, T133, and P74 did not confer ampicillin resistance and were considered to have a cytoplasmic ß-lactamase moiety (Table 2). In these cases, the ratio of the cytoplasmic to periplasmic ß-lactamase activity ranged from 5/1 to 50/1 and the periplasmic activity was indeed much too small to confer sufficient ampicillin resistance. In addition, part of the so-called periplasmic activity might be due to a small proportion of the cell lysis during the separation of the various cellular compartments.
Topology of AmpG.
The AmpG topological model derived from ampicillin resistance data contains 10 transmembrane hydrophobic segments: TS1, TS2, TS3, TS4, TS7, TS8, TS9, TS10, TS13, and TS14 (Fig. 3) which delimit six cytoplasmic hydrophilic domains, including the N- and C-terminal ends, and five periplasmic hydrophilic domains. In this model, the putative transmembrane segments TS5, TS6, TS11and TS12 are not included in the membrane and are located in the cytoplasm. Except for BlaM fusions F5 (T352) and F10 (G172), the BlaM fusions were in agreement with the transmembrane segments predicted by Eisenberg analysis (see above). The presence of prolyl residues in the middle of the hydrophobic segments TS6 and TS12 (Pro186 and Pro394, Fig. 2) suggests the existence of a truncated
helix or of a turn in these hydrophobic segments. By inserting a ß turn in these hydrophobic segments, another possibility for the polypeptide chain to cross the membrane would be expected if it adopts a ß-stranded structure. In this case, a hydrophobic segment would give rise to two hydrophobic ß strands. To probe this hypothesis, we have included the transmembrane segments TS5 and TS11 in this study, although they do not contain a prolyl residue in their sequence, because the four hydrophobic segments, TS5, TS6, TS11, and TS12, would generate eight hydrophobic ß strands which could be associated in the membrane to form a ß-barrel structure. To rule out the hypothesis of the presence of ß-stranded segments, two additional blaM fusions were generated at the positions of the putative ß turns in TS5 and TS6 (fusions F15 and F16, Table 2). The resulting fusions were ampicillin sensitive when they were grown as single cells, indicating that the fusion points (R153 and P186) were located in the cytoplasm. No additional fusions have been performed with TS11 and TS12, because they share similar hydrophobic properties with TS5 and TS6. In conclusion, the final model for AmpG topology is that derived from ampicillin resistance data (Fig. 3).
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FIG. 3. Proposed topological model of E. coli AmpG protein. Arrows indicate the positions of AmpG-BlaM fusions that have been constructed (for details, see Table 2 and Fig. 2). Digits represent hydrophobic segments deduced from the Eisenberg analysis.
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helices. These results are in contradiction with those obtained by the Eisenberg analysis for the prediction of the transmembrane segments. Before we discuss the reasons that these four hydrophobic segments are not embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane, we note that it was unexpected that these four segments could be grouped by pairs according to their length and their hydrophobicity. Indeed, TS5 and TS11 contain 14 and 13 residues, respectively, whereas TS6 and TS12 contain 26 and 24 residues, respectively. For the first pair, the length of the
helices is probably too short to cross the cytoplasmic membrane if we accept that a minimum length of 18 residues is required to do so. In our prediction, TS2 also contains 14 residues. However, the hydrophobicity of TS2 is higher than that of TS5 and of TS11. The two hydrophobic segments for the second pair, TS6 and TS12, contain a central prolyl residue. Though prolyl residues are frequently found in transmembrane segments, in the case of AmpG these prolyl residues could act as
-helix breakers and give rise to
helices too short to span the membrane. On the other hand, if TS5 and TS11 are not in the membrane and if TS6 is a transmembrane segment, TS11 and points of fusion F4 and F5 would be exposed in the periplasm, which contradicts results of the TEM-ß-lactamase fusion experiments. Finally, in the topological model proposed in Fig. 3, the positive-inside rule of von Heijne (26) is respected for the orientation of transmembrane
helices (data not shown). Out of the 10 transmembrane segments previously predicted by Lindquist et al. (16), 8 are in agreement with our topological model and correspond to TS1, TS3, TS4, TS6, TS7, TS8, TS10, TS12, TS13, and TS14. The two remaining transmembrane segments predicted by these authors were TS6 and TS12 and have been eliminated in our topological model and replaced by the TS2 and TS9 transmembrane segments. The same authors also reported three AmpG mutants yielding a noninducible phenotype. The mutations are identical Gly-Asp substitutions located at positions 151, 268, and 373, respectively (Fig. 2). Interestingly, the G151D and G373D mutations are located in two large cytoplasmic domains of AmpG and probably highlight the importance of these cytoplasmic domains in the AmpG transport mechanism. The last mutation, G268D, is located at the beginning of the transmembrane segment TS8 and probably destabilizes the transmembrane scaffolding. A recent study of the AmpG permease substrate specificity and mechanism of transport shows that carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) prevents the uptake of GlucNAc-anhydro-MurNAc or GlucNAc-anhydro-MurNAc-tetrapeptide by AmpG (4). This inhibition by CCCP suggests that the AmpG permease is a single component permease dependent on the proton motive force as demonstrated for some members of the sugar transport system belonging to the oligosaccharide-H+ symporter family (22). With respect to the transport mechanism of AmpG, the two large cytoplasmic loops containing TS5, TS6, TS11, and TS12 may be involved in a scissors-type mechanism similar to that envisioned for lipid flipping by the E. coli MsbA ABC transporter (3) or in a swinging rearrangement as proposed for the E. coli BtucD ABC transporter (18).
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TABLE 3. AmpG-TEM hybrid characterization for antibiotic single cell resistance and determination of AmpG topologya
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This work was supported by the Belgian Program on Interuniversity Poles of Attraction initiated by the Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs (PAI no. P5/33), the Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS; crédit aux chercheurs no. 1.5201.02 and FRFC no. 2.4530.03) and the European Commission (Targeted Research Project COBRA). B.J. is a FNRS associate researcher. A.C. and M.D. were supported by Coopération Technique Belge (CTB-BCT Brussels) and the Ministère de la Région Wallonne (DGTRE; contract ßA4, no. 114830), respectively. R.B. is FNRS Research Director. This work was supported by the Ministère de la Région Wallonne (Contract Protmem no. 14540).
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