Novel fold and assembly of the repetitive B region of the Staphylococcus aureus collagen-binding surface protein

Champion C.S. Deivanayagam, Rebecca L. Rich, Mike Carson, Rick T. Owens, Sita Danthuluri, Todd Bice, Magnus Höök, Sthanam V.L. Narayana

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

135 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The Staphylococcus aureus collagen-binding protein Cna mediates bacterial adherence to collagen. The primary sequence of Cna has a non-repetitive collagen-binding A region, followed by the repetitive B region. The B region has one to four 23 kDa repeat units (B1-B4), depending on the strain of origin. The affinity of the A region for collagen is independent of the B region. However, the B repeat units have been suggested to serve as a 'stalk' that projects the A region from the bacterial surface and thus facilitate bacterial adherence to collagen. To understand the biological role of these B-region repeats we determined their three- dimensional structure. Results: B1 has two domains (D1 and D2) placed side-by-side. D1 and D2 have similar secondary structure and exhibit a unique fold that resembles but is the inverse of the immunoglobulin-like (IgG-like) domains. Comparison with similar immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) structures shows novel packing arrangements between the D1 and D2 domains. In the B1B2 crystal structure, an omission of a single glycine residue in the D2-D3 linker loop, compared to the D1-D2 and D3-D4 linker loops, resulted in projection of the D3 and D4 in a spatially new orientation. We also present a model for B1B2B3B4. Conclusions: The B region of the Cna collagen adhesin has a novel fold that is reminiscent of but is inverse in nature to the IgG fold. This B region assembly could effectively provide the needed flexibility and stability for presenting the ligand binding A region away from the bacterial cell surface.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)67-78
Number of pages12
JournalStructure
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2000

Keywords

  • Cna
  • Collagen
  • IgSF
  • MSCRAMM
  • Staphylococcus aureus

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Structural Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Novel fold and assembly of the repetitive B region of the Staphylococcus aureus collagen-binding surface protein'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this