Coxiella burnetii inhibits host immunity by a protein phosphatase adapted from glycolysis. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Coxiella burnetii is a bacterial pathogen that replicates within host cells by establishing a membrane-bound niche called the Coxiella-containing vacuole. Biogenesis of this compartment requires effectors of its Dot/Icm type IV secretion system. A large cohort of such effectors has been identified, but the function of most of them remain elusive. Here, by a cell-based functional screening, we identified the effector Cbu0513 (designated as CinF) as an inhibitor of NF-B signaling. CinF is highly similar to a fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) aldolase/phosphatase present in diverse bacteria. Further study reveals that unlike its ortholog from Sulfolobus tokodaii, CinF does not exhibit FBP phosphatase activity. Instead, it functions as a protein phosphatase that specifically dephosphorylates and stabilizes IB. The IB phosphatase activity is essential for the role of CinF in C. burnetii virulence. Our results establish that C. burnetii utilizes a protein adapted from sugar metabolism to subvert host immunity.

published proceedings

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

altmetric score

  • 4.85

author list (cited authors)

  • Zhang, Y., Fu, J., Liu, S., Wang, L., Qiu, J., van Schaik, E. J., ... Luo, Z.

citation count

  • 92

complete list of authors

  • Zhang, Yong||Fu, Jiaqi||Liu, Shuxin||Wang, Lidong||Qiu, Jiazhang||van Schaik, Erin J||Samuel, James E||Song, Lei||Luo, Zhao-Qing

publication date

  • January 2022