Scientific article
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Thermosensitive PBP2a requires extracellular folding factors PrsA and HtrA1 for Staphylococcus aureus MRSA β-lactam resistance

Published inCommunications Biology, vol. 2, 417
Publication date2019
Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen and represents a clinical challenge because of widespread antibiotic resistance. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is particularly problematic and originates by the horizontal acquisition of mecA encoding PBP2a, an extracellular membrane anchored transpeptidase, which confers resistance to β-lactam antibiotics by allosteric gating of its active site channel. Herein, we show that dual disruption of PrsA, a lipoprotein chaperone displaying anti-aggregation activity, together with HtrA1, a membrane anchored chaperone/serine protease, resulted in severe and synergistic attenuation of PBP2a folding that restores sensitivity to β-lactams such as oxacillin. Purified PBP2a has a pronounced unfolding transition initiating at physiological temperatures that leads to irreversible precipitation and complete loss of activity. The concordance of genetic and biochemical data highlights the necessity for extracellular protein folding factors governing MRSA β-lactam resistance. Targeting the PBP2a folding pathway represents a particularly attractive adjuvant strategy to combat antibiotic resistance.

Keywords
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
  • Bacterial Proteins/chemistry/genetics/metabolism
  • High-Temperature Requirement A Serine Peptidase 1/genetics/metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lipoproteins/genetics/metabolism
  • Membrane Proteins/genetics/metabolism
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects/genetics
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Models
  • Molecular
  • Penicillin-Binding Proteins/chemistry/genetics
  • Protein Conformation
  • Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Beta-Lactam Resistance
Citation (ISO format)
ROCH, Mélanie et al. Thermosensitive PBP2a requires extracellular folding factors PrsA and HtrA1 for Staphylococcus aureus MRSA β-lactam resistance. In: Communications Biology, 2019, vol. 2, p. 417. doi: 10.1038/s42003-019-0667-0
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Identifiers
Journal ISSN2399-3642
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Creation10/05/2021 09:42:00
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