The crystal structure of Pneumolysin at 2.0 Å resolution reveals the molecular packing of the pre-pore complex

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Marshall, Jamie E, Faraj, Bayan H A, Gingras, Alexandre R, Lonnen, Rana, Sheikh, Md. Arif, El-Mezgueldi, Mohammed, Moody, Peter C E, Andrew, Peter W and Wallis, Russell (2015) The crystal structure of Pneumolysin at 2.0 Å resolution reveals the molecular packing of the pre-pore complex. Scientific Reports, 5. pp. 1-11. ISSN 2045-2322

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Abstract

Pneumolysin is a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC) and virulence factor of Streptococcus pneumoniae. It kills cells by forming pores assembled from oligomeric rings in cholesterol-containing membranes. Cryo-EM has revealed the structures of the membrane-surface bound pre-pore and inserted-pore oligomers, however the molecular contacts that mediate these oligomers are unknown because high-resolution information is not available. Here we have determined the crystal structure of full-length pneumolysin at 1.98 Å resolution. In the structure, crystal contacts demonstrate the likely interactions that enable polymerisation on the cell membrane and the molecular packing of the pre-pore complex. The hemolytic activity is abrogated in mutants that disrupt these intermolecular contacts, highlighting their importance during pore formation. An additional crystal structure of the membrane-binding domain alone suggests that changes in the conformation of a tryptophan rich-loop at the base of the toxin promote monomer-monomer interactions upon membrane binding by creating new contacts. Notably, residues at the interface are conserved in other members of the CDC family, suggesting a common mechanism for pore and pre-pore assembly.

Item Type: Article
Schools and Departments: School of Life Sciences > Sussex Centre for Genome Damage and Stability
Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology > QR0001 General
Depositing User: MD Arif Sheikh
Date Deposited: 18 Sep 2015 13:09
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2022 11:30
URI: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/56826

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