2014年6月12日 訊 /生物谷BIOON/ --對多種抗生素耐藥的葡萄球菌感染並不會發生,因為細菌自身會適應藥物,但是由於細菌自身會攜帶一種名為質粒的遺傳物質,因此其往往會幫助宿主(細菌)免於抗生素的殺滅作用。
質粒是一種含有部分基因的環狀DNA,其可以進行自我複製,當細菌分裂增殖時其往往會進入下一代菌體中。
近日,刊登在國際雜誌PNAS上的一篇研究論文中,來自杜克大學等處的研究人員通過研究揭示了一種驅動質粒中DNA複製使得葡萄球菌對抗生素產生耐藥性的關鍵蛋白質的結構;揭示這種關鍵蛋白的作用機理對於開發新型路徑阻斷質粒在葡萄球菌中攜帶抗生素耐藥性提供了一定希望。
如果質粒不複製的話,那麼葡萄球菌攜帶的這種抗生素耐藥性就會失效。文章中研究人員解析了這種名為RepA的關鍵蛋白的結構,該蛋白質對於質粒進行自身DNA的複製以及產生新的質粒非常重要。RepA可以吸附到質粒DNA序列的起始端,並且開始其複製過程。
自然狀態下蛋白質RepA是成對存在的,當一對RepA和另一對RepA互相碰撞時,兩對RepA就會優先進行互相吸附,從而形成一種複雜的結構,更能促進其吸附到DNA上開始DNA的複製。當RepA形成四分子結構時,質粒就會被鎖住,因為DNA鏈會被鎖定,從而導致出現非功能性的RepA。
研究者Schumacher表示,RepA在質粒世界中到處存在,而且其很少會和其它蛋白質或人類蛋白質具有相似性,這就使得其成為最具吸引力的藥物靶點,研究者希望可以以該蛋白質為基礎開發新型抗生素,來抵禦感染性疾病的發生。(生物谷Bioon.com)
Mechanism of staphylococcal multiresistance plasmid replication origin assembly by the RepA protein
Maria A. Schumachera,1, Nam K. Tonthata, Stephen M. Kwongb, Naga babu Chinnama, Michael A. Liub, Ronald A. Skurrayb, and Neville Firthb
The staphylococcal multiresistance plasmids are key contributors to the alarming rise in bacterial multidrug resistance. A conserved replication initiator, RepA, encoded on these plasmids is essential for their propagation. RepA proteins consist of flexibly linked N-terminal (NTD) and C-terminal (CTD) domains. Despite their essential role in replication, the molecular basis for RepA function is unknown. Here we describe a complete structural and functional dissection of RepA proteins. Unexpectedly, both the RepA NTD and CTD show similarity to the corresponding domains of the bacterial primosome protein, DnaD. Although the RepA and DnaD NTD both contain winged helix-turn-helices, the DnaD NTD self-assembles into large scaffolds whereas the tetrameric RepA NTD binds DNA iterons using a newly described DNA binding mode. Strikingly, structural and atomic force microscopy data reveal that the NTD tetramer mediates DNA bridging, suggesting a molecular mechanism for origin handcuffing. Finally, data show that the RepA CTD interacts with the host DnaG primase, which binds the replicative helicase. Thus, these combined data reveal the molecular mechanism by which RepA mediates the specific replicon assembly of staphylococcal multiresistant plasmids.