Proteomics of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Outer Membrane Vesicles

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 18;10(9):e0138591. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138591. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is an oral and systemic pathogen associated with aggressive forms of periodontitis and with endocarditis. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released by this species have been demonstrated to deliver effector proteins such as cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) and leukotoxin (LtxA) into human host cells and to act as triggers of innate immunity upon carriage of NOD1- and NOD2-active pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). To improve our understanding of the pathogenicity-associated functions that A. actinomycetemcomitans exports via OMVs, we studied the proteome of density gradient-purified OMVs from a rough-colony type clinical isolate, strain 173 (serotype e) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This analysis yielded the identification of 151 proteins, which were found in at least three out of four independent experiments. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002509. Through this study, we not only confirmed the vesicle-associated release of LtxA, and the presence of proteins, which are known to act as immunoreactive antigens in the human host, but we also identified numerous additional putative virulence-related proteins in the A. actinomycetemcomitans OMV proteome. The known and putative functions of these proteins include immune evasion, drug targeting, and iron/nutrient acquisition. In summary, our findings are consistent with an OMV-associated proteome that exhibits several offensive and defensive functions, and they provide a comprehensive basis to further disclose roles of A. actinomycetemcomitans OMVs in periodontal and systemic disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / metabolism*
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Periodontitis / microbiology*
  • Proteomics
  • Secretory Vesicles / metabolism*

Substances

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by TUA grants from the County Council of Västerbotten, Sweden (JO), Insamlingsstiftelsen, Medical Faculty, Umeå University (JO), and Magnus Bergvalls Stiftelse (JO). The proteomics part of this study was performed at the KBC Proteomics Core facility at Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. We thank the Faculty of Science and Technology of Umeå University, and the Kempe Foundations for grants for instruments and bioinformatics resources of this facility. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.