The sequence of events of enteropathogenic E. coli's type III secretion system translocon assembly

Jenia Gershberg, May Morhaim, Irina Rostrovsky, Jerry Eichler, Neta Sal-Man

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Many bacterial pathogens employ the type III secretion system (T3SS), a specialized complex that transports effector proteins that manipulate various cellular processes. The T3SS forms a translocon pore within the host-cell membrane consisting of two secreted proteins that transition from a soluble state into a transmembrane complex. Still, the exact sequence of events leading to the formation of a membranous functional pore remains uncertain. Here, we utilized the translocon proteins of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) to investigate the sequence of those steps leading to translocon assembly, including self-oligomerization, hetero-oligomerization, interprotein interaction, and membrane insertion. We found that in EPEC, EspD (SctE) plays a dominant role in pore formation as it assembles into an oligomeric state, regardless of pH, membrane contact, or the presence of EspB (SctB). Subsequently, EspB subunits integrate into EspD homo-oligomers to create EspB-EspD hetero-oligomers that adopt a transmembrane orientation to create a functional pore complex.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number109108
JournaliScience
Volume27
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular biology

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The sequence of events of enteropathogenic E. coli's type III secretion system translocon assembly'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this