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Outer surface lipoproteins from the Lyme disease spirochete exploit the molecular switch mechanism of the complement protease C1s
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Abstract
Proteolytic cascades comprise several important physiological systems, including a primary arm of innate immunity called the complement cascade. To safeguard against complement-mediated attack, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, Borreliella burgdorferi, produces numerous outer surface-localized lipoproteins that contribute to successful complement evasion. Recently, we discovered a pair of B. burgdorferi surface lipoproteins of the OspEF-related protein family-termed ElpB and ElpQ-that inhibit antibody-mediated complement activation. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanism of ElpB and ElpQ complement inhibition using an array of biochemical and biophysical approaches. In vitro assays of complement activation show that an independently folded homologous C-terminal domain of each Elp protein maintains full complement inhibitory activity and selectively inhibits the classical pathway. Using binding assays and complement component C1s enzyme assays, we show that binding of Elp proteins to activated C1s blocks complement component C4 cleavage by competing with C1s-C4 binding without occluding the active site. C1s-mediated C4 cleavage is dependent on activation-induced binding sites, termed exosites. To test whether these exosites are involved in Elp-C1s binding, we performed site-directed mutagenesis, which showed that ElpB and ElpQ binding require C1s residues in the anion-binding exosite located on the serine protease domain of C1s. Based on these results, we propose a model whereby ElpB and ElpQ exploit activation-induced conformational changes that are normally important for C1s-mediated C4 cleavage. Our study expands the known complement evasion mechanisms of microbial pathogens and reveals a novel molecular mechanism for selective C1s inhibition by Lyme disease spirochetes.
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![Figure 6 C1s–CCP1–CCP2–SP exosite mutagenesis SPR-binding studies.A, ribbon diagram of crystal structures of CCP1–CCP2–SP in a proenzyme (gray, Protein Data Bank [PDB] ID: 4J1Y) and activated form (blue, PDB ID: 5UBM). The catalytic triad is marked in yellow on each structure. Site-directed alanine mutagenesis was performed on residues in each of the C4 exosites: the anion-binding exosite (ABE, red loop) consisting of K575–R576–R581–K583 (magenta sticks), the region between CCP1 and CCP2 termed the CCP exosite (CCPE) consisting of E326–D358 (green sticks), or simultaneous mutation of both (CCPE/ABE). Surface representations of each site, denoted proexosites for C1s proenzyme models, are shown from another vantage with the mutated residues highlighted. B and C, ElpQ181–343 and ElpB182–378 were immobilized on an SPR sensor chip, and activated C1s–CCP1–CCP2–SP constructs were injected as a twofold dilution curve (200–0.8 nM). Symbols represent steady-state values at each concentration. D, steady-state fits are shown of the raw sensorgrams presented in B and C with colored circles corresponding to the steady-state RU. Representative curves are shown, and each injection series was performed in triplicate. Fits (solid lines) were performed using Biacore T200 Evaluation software, and KD values are presented in Table 2. ABE and CCPE/ABE mutants could not be fit and are shown as dashed lines. CCP, complement control protein; CCPE, CCP exosite; SP, serine protease; SPR, surface plasmon resonance.](/paper-figures/b34ccb603a7b4bd3ab230999457f789d/outer-surface-lipoproteins-from-the-lyme-disease-spirochete-exploit-the-figure-6.jpg)
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Jumper, J., Evans, R., Pritzel, A., Green, T., Figurnov, M., Ronneberger, O., Tunyasuvunakool, K., Bates, R., Žídek, A., Potapenko, A., et al. (2021) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2 · Cited by 43,764
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Metadata
- Authors
- Garrigues, R. J., Thomas, S., Leong, J. M., & Garcia, B. L.
- Affiliations
- East Carolina University (US)
- Tufts University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Garcia, Brandon L.
- Venue
- Journal of Biological Chemistry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-11
- Volume
- 298
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 102557
- ISSN
- 0021-9258 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9637899
- OpenAlex
- W4298009040
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Biological Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- The Scholarship East Carolina University's Institutional Repository (East Carolina University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (R01-AI146930)
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01-AI121401)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Complement system in diseases
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Bacterial Infections and Vaccines
- Keywords
- Borrelia burgdorferi, Lyme disease, complement evasion, complement C1, surface lipoproteins, exosite, anion-binding exosite, serine protease, classical complement pathway, antibody-mediated complement activation, complement inhibition
- MeSH terms
- Complement System Proteins, Complement C1s, Complement C4, Humans, Lipoproteins, Lyme Disease, Endopeptidases, Borrelia burgdorferi, Serine Proteases
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