2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone and anthranilic-acid

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common nosocomial pathogen that relies on three cell-to-cell signals to regulate multiple virulence factors. The Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS; 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone) is one of these signals, and it is known to be important for P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. PQS is synthesized in a multistep reaction that condenses anthranilate and a fatty acid. In P. aeruginosa, anthranilate is produced via the kynurenine pathway and two separate anthranilate synthases, TrpEG and PhnAB, the latter of which is important for PQS synthesis. Others have previously shown that a P. aeruginosa tryptophan auxotroph could grow on tryptophan-depleted medium with a frequency of 10(-5) to 10(-6). These revertants produced more pyocyanin and had increased levels of phnA transcript. In this study, we constructed similar tryptophan auxotroph revertants and found that the reversion resulted from a synonymous G-to-A nucleotide mutation within pqsC. This change resulted in increased pyocyanin and decreased PQS, along with an increase in the level of the pqsD, pqsE, and phnAB transcripts. Reporter fusion and reverse transcriptase PCR studies indicated that a novel transcript containing pqsD, pqsE, and phnAB occurs in these revertants, and quantitative real-time PCR experiments suggested that the same transcript appears in the wild-type strain under nutrient-limiting conditions. These results imply that the PQS biosynthetic operon can produce an internal transcript that increases anthranilate production and greatly elevates the expression of the PQS signal response protein PqsE. This suggests a novel mechanism to ensure the production of both anthranilate and PQS-controlled virulence factors.

Topics: Chorismic Acid; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Molecular Structure; Mutation; ortho-Aminobenzoates; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quinolones; Tryptophan

Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) plays a role in the regulation of virulence genes and it is intertwined in the las/rhl quorum sensing (QS) circuits of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PQS is synthesized from anthranilate by pqsA-D and pqsH whose expression is influenced by the las/rhl systems. Since anthranilate can be degraded by functions of antABC and catBCA, PQS synthesis might be regulated by the balance between the expression of the pqsA-D/phnAB, pqsH, antABC, and catBCA gene loci. antA and catA are repressed by LasR during log phase and activated by RhlR in late stationary phase, whereas pqsA-E/phnAB is activated by LasR in log phase and repressed by RhlR. QscR represses both but each repression occurs in a different growth phase. This growth phase-differential regulation appears to be accomplished by the antagonistic interplay of LasR, RhlR, and QscR, mediated by two intermediate regulators, AntR and PqsR, and their cofactors, anthranilate and PQS, where the expressions of antR and pqsR and the production of anthranilate and PQS are growth phase-differentially regulated by QS systems. Especially, the anthranilate level increases in an RhlR-dependent manner at late stationary phase. From these results, we suggest that RhlR and LasR regulate the anthranilate metabolism in a mutually antagonistic and growth phase-differential manner by affecting both the expressions and activities of AntR and PqsR, and that QscR also phase-differentially represses both LasR and RhlR functions in this regulation.

Topics: Bacterial Proteins; Base Sequence; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; ortho-Aminobenzoates; Plasmids; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quinolones; Quorum Sensing; RNA, Messenger; Signal Transduction; Trans-Activators; Transcription, Genetic; Transformation, Bacterial; Virulence Factors

Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS), 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone, is an intercellular alkyl quinolone signaling molecule produced by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Alkyl quinolone signaling is an atypical system that, in P. aeruginosa, controls the expression of numerous virulence factors. PQS is synthesized from the tryptophan pathway intermediate, anthranilate, which is derived either from the kynurenine pathway or from an alkyl quinolone specific anthranilate synthase encoded by phnAB. Anthranilate is converted to PQS by the enzymes encoded by the pqsABCDE operon and pqsH. PqsA forms an activated anthraniloyl-CoA thioester that shuttles anthranilate to the PqsD active site where it is transferred to Cys112 of PqsD. In the only biochemically characterized reaction, a condensation then occurs between anthraniloyl-PqsD and malonyl-CoA or malonyl-ACP, a second PqsD substrate, forming 2,4-dihydroxyquinoline (DHQ). The role PqsD plays in the biosynthesis of other alkyl quinolones, such as PQS, is unclear, though it has been reported to be required for their production. No evidence exists that DHQ is a PQS precursor, however. Here we present a structural and biophysical characterization of PqsD that includes several crystal structures of the enzyme, including that of the PqsD-anthranilate covalent intermediate and the inactive Cys112Ala active site mutant in complex with anthranilate. The structure reveals that PqsD is structurally similar to the FabH and chalcone synthase families of fatty acid and polyketide synthases. The crystallographic asymmetric unit contains a PqsD dimer. The PqsD monomer is composed of two nearly identical approximately 170-residue alphabetaalphabetaalpha domains. The structures show anthranilate-liganded Cys112 is positioned deep in the protein interior at the bottom of an approximately 15 A long channel while a second anthraniloyl-CoA molecule is waiting in the cleft leading to the protein surface. Cys112, His257, and Asn287 form the FabH-like catalytic triad of PqsD. The C112A mutant is inactive, although it still reversibly binds anthraniloyl-CoA. The covalent complex between anthranilate and Cys112 clearly illuminates the orientation of key elements of the PqsD catalytic machinery and represents a snapshot of a key point in the catalytic cycle.

Topics: 3-Oxoacyl-(Acyl-Carrier-Protein) Synthase; Amino Acid Sequence; Bacterial Proteins; Catalysis; Crystallography, X-Ray; Fatty Acids; Molecular Sequence Data; ortho-Aminobenzoates; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quinolones; Substrate Specificity

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen which relies on several intercellular signaling systems for optimum population density-dependent regulation of virulence genes. The Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) is a 3-hydroxy-4-quinolone with a 2-alkyl substitution which is synthesized by the condensation of anthranilic acid with a 3-keto-fatty acid. The pqsABCDE operon has been identified as being necessary for PQS production, and the pqsA gene encodes a predicted protein with homology to acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) ligases. In order to elucidate the first step of the 4-quinolone synthesis pathway in P. aeruginosa, we have characterized the function of the pqsA gene product. Extracts prepared from Escherichia coli expressing PqsA were shown to catalyze the formation of anthraniloyl-CoA from anthranilate, ATP, and CoA. The PqsA protein was purified as a recombinant His-tagged polypeptide, and this protein was shown to have anthranilate-CoA ligase activity. The enzyme was active on a variety of aromatic substrates, including benzoate and chloro and fluoro derivatives of anthranilate. Inhibition of PQS formation in vivo was observed for the chloro- and fluoroanthranilate derivatives, as well as for several analogs which were not PqsA enzymatic substrates. These results indicate that the PqsA protein is responsible for priming anthranilate for entry into the PQS biosynthetic pathway and that this enzyme may serve as a useful in vitro indicator for potential agents to disrupt quinolone signaling in P. aeruginosa.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Amino Acid Sequence; Bacterial Proteins; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Coenzyme A; Coenzyme A Ligases; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Enzyme Activation; Kinetics; Molecular Sequence Data; ortho-Aminobenzoates; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quinolones; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Substrate Specificity

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes serious infections in immunocompromised patients and those with cystic fibrosis (CF). This gram-negative bacterium uses multiple cell-to-cell signals to control numerous cellular functions and virulence. One of these signals is 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone, which is referred to as the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS). This signal functions as a coinducer for a transcriptional regulator (PqsR) to positively control multiple virulence genes and its own synthesis. PQS production is required for virulence in multiple models of infection, and it has been shown to be produced in the lungs of CF patients infected by P. aeruginosa. One of the precursor compounds from which PQS is synthesized is the metabolite anthranilate. This compound can be derived from the conversion of chorismate to anthranilate by an anthranilate synthase or through the degradation of tryptophan via the anthranilate branch of the kynurenine pathway. In this study, we present data which help to define the kynurenine pathway in P. aeruginosa and show that the kynurenine pathway serves as a critical source of anthranilate for PQS synthesis. We also show that the kyn pathway genes are induced during growth with tryptophan and that they are autoregulated by kynurenine. This study provides solid foundations for the understanding of how P. aeruginosa produces the anthranilate that serves as a precursor to PQS and other 4-quinolones.

Topics: Antibiosis; Artificial Gene Fusion; beta-Galactosidase; Chorismic Acid; Gene Deletion; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genetic Complementation Test; Kynurenine; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Microbial Viability; Models, Biological; ortho-Aminobenzoates; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quinolones; Staphylococcus aureus; Tryptophan