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    Structure of the WipA protein reveals a novel tyrosine protein phosphatase effector from Legionella pneumophila

    Pinotsis, Nikos and Waksman, Gabriel (2017) Structure of the WipA protein reveals a novel tyrosine protein phosphatase effector from Legionella pneumophila. Journal of Biological Chemistry 292 (22), pp. 9240-9251. ISSN 0021-9258.

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    Abstract

    Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila. L. pneumophila pathogenicity relies on secretion of more than 300 effector proteins by a type IVb secretion system. Among these Legionella effectors, WipA has been primarily studied because of its dependence on a chaperone complex, IcmSW, for translocation through the secretion system, but its role in pathogenicity has remained unknown. In this study, we present the crystal structure of a large fragment of WipA, WipA435. Surprisingly, this structure revealed a serine/threonine phosphatase fold that unexpectedly targets tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides. The structure also revealed a sequence insertion that folds into an α-helical hairpin, the tip of which adopts a canonical coiled-coil structure. The purified protein was a dimer whose dimer interface involves interactions between the coiled coil of one WipA molecule and the phosphatase domain of another. Given the ubiquity of protein-protein interaction mediated by interactions between coiled-coils, we hypothesize that WipA can thereby transition from a homodimeric state to a heterodimeric state in which the coiled-coil region of WipA is engaged in a protein-protein interaction with a tyrosine-phosphorylated host target. In conclusion, these findings help advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of an effector involved in Legionella virulence and may inform approaches to elucidate the function of other effectors.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): crystal structure, enzyme kinetics, Michaelis-Menten, phosphatase, tyrosine-protein phosphatase (tyrosine phosphatase), Legionella effector, coiled-coil, phosphoesterase fold, tyrosine phosphatase
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2017 13:14
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:33
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/18921

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