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Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells
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Composition and localization of Treponema denticola outer membrane complexes
Valentina Godovikova1, M Paula Goetting-Minesky, J Christopher Fenno
1Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078, USA.
Infection and Immunity
|October 12, 2011
Summary
The Treponema denticola outer membrane protease complex includes PrcB, a lipoprotein essential for its activity. This study reveals PrcB
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Oral Microbiology
Background:
- Treponema denticola's dentilisin complex contributes to periodontal disease.
- PrcB, a lipoprotein, interacts with PrtP and is crucial for its activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- Further characterize protease locus products in T. denticola.
- Investigate their roles in outer membrane complex expression, formation, and localization.
Main Methods:
- Native gel electrophoresis to analyze protein complexes.
- Immunofluorescence microscopy for cell surface localization.
- Co-immunoprecipitation to study protein interactions.
Main Results:
- PrcB is part of a >400-kDa complex including PrtP, PrcA, and Msp.
- Mature PrtP, PrcA1, PrcB, and Msp are exposed on the cell surface.
- PrcA2 interacts with Msp, potentially mediating high-molecular-weight complex formation.
Conclusions:
- PrcB is a component of the T. denticola outer membrane lipoprotein protease complex.
- Msp and PrcA2 interaction may facilitate the formation of very-high-molecular-weight outer membrane complexes.
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