Characterizing the Chlamydia Trachomatis Inclusion Membrane Proteome
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Characterizing the Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion membrane proteome Mary Dickinson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2019 Reading committee Kevin Hybiske, Chair Lee Ann Campbell David Sherman Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Pathobiology ©Copyright 2019 Mary Dickinson ii University of Washington Abstract Characterizing the Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion membrane proteome Mary Dickinson Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Kevin Hybiske Pathobiology Program, Department of Medicine Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infection, responsible for millions of infections each year. Despite this high prevalence, the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of Chlamydia pathogenesis has been difficult due to limitations in genetic tools and its intracellular developmental cycle. Within a host epithelial cell, chlamydiae replicate within a vacuole called the inclusion. Many Chlamydia–host interactions are thought to be mediated by the Inc family of type III secreted proteins that are anchored in the inclusion membrane, but their array of host targets are largely unknown. To investigate how the inclusion membrane proteome changes over the course of an infected cell, we have adapted the APEX system of proximity-dependent biotinylation. APEX is capable of specifically labeling proteins within a 20 nm radius in living cells. We transformed C. trachomatis to express the enzyme APEX fused to known inclusion membrane proteins, allowing biotinylation and purification of inclusion-associated proteins. Using quantitative mass spectrometry against APEX labeled samples, we identified over 400 proteins associated with the inclusion membrane at early, middle, and late stages of epithelial cell infection. This system was iii sensitive enough to detect inclusion interacting proteins early in the developmental cycle, at 8 hours post infection, a previously intractable time point. A spreadsheet of the proteins identified by APEX at each time point is included as the supplemental file Table S2-1. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed a novel, early association between C. trachomatis inclusions and endoplasmic reticulum exit sites (ERES), functional regions of the ER where COPII-coated vesicles originate. Pharmacological disruption of ERES function severely restricted early chlamydial growth and the development of infectious progeny. Depletion of certain ERES proteins with RNA interference also reduced formation of infectious progeny. Most ERES proteins tested localized to small punctae that sometimes colocalized with the inclusion membrane, but two ERES proteins that were identified by APEX, PDCD6 and TFG, accumulated on the inclusion membrane in certain conditions. When intracellular calcium was elevated, PDCD6 strongly associated with the inclusion membrane. A truncated form of TFG accumulated on the inclusion membrane. Unlike other ERES proteins tested, depletion of PDCD6 caused enhanced C. trachomatis infectious progeny formation. The work in this dissertation shows that APEX is a powerful in situ approach for identifying critical protein interactions on the membranes of pathogen-containing vacuoles. Furthermore, the data derived from proteomic mapping of Chlamydia inclusions has illuminated an important functional role for ERES in promoting chlamydial developmental growth. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................... 1 List of Figures ........................................................................................................ 4 List of Tables .......................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 1 – Introduction ........................................................................................ 8 Chlamydia trachomatis disease burden and developmental growth ........... 8 Inclusion development and nutrient acquisition .......................................... 9 Chlamydia genetic manipulation ................................................................ 12 Chlamydia-host interactions ...................................................................... 14 Proteomics of inclusion-interacting proteins .............................................. 15 Dissertation Summary ................................................................................ 17 Chapter 2 – Identifying novel proteins associated with the inclusion membrane using proximity dependent biotinylation ..............................................................18 Introduction ................................................................................................18 Results ....................................................................................................... 20 Development of the APEX in situ proximity labeling system for C. trachomatis ........... 20 Identification of inclusion interacting proteins by quantitative mass spectrometry .....25 Functional validation of targets recruited to early inclusions ......................................... 30 Discussion .................................................................................................. 33 Materials and Methods ............................................................................... 36 Antibodies and reagents....................................................................................................... 36 Cell culture and Chlamydia infections ................................................................................ 36 Plasmid constructs and generation of transformed Chlamydia strains .......................... 37 Biotin-phenol labeling in live cells ...................................................................................... 38 Protein purification for mass spectrometry ....................................................................... 38 Mass spectrometry and bioinformatic analysis of proteomic data ................................. 40 siRNA transfections .............................................................................................................. 42 Quantitative PCR analysis ................................................................................................... 42 Immunofluorescence microscopy ........................................................................................ 43 Western blot analysis ........................................................................................................... 43 Inclusion forming unit analysis .......................................................................................... 44 1 Supplemental Information ......................................................................... 45 Chapter 3 – Endoplasmic reticulum exit sites are required for Chlamydia trachomatis growth ............................................................................................. 48 Introduction ............................................................................................... 48 Results ....................................................................................................... 50 Recruitment of ERES proteins Sec16 and Sec31 to C. trachomatis inclusions ................ 50 Chemical inhibition of ERES cargo loading restricts C. trachomatis developmental growth ..................................................................................................................................... 53 Chemical inhibition of ERES cargo sorting reduces Chlamydia growth ......................... 55 Depletion of ERES regulatory proteins disrupts Chlamydia growth ............................... 61 Discussion .................................................................................................. 63 Materials and Methods ............................................................................... 66 Antibodies and reagents....................................................................................................... 66 Cell culture and Chlamydia infections ................................................................................ 66 Plasmid constructs ................................................................................................................. 67 siRNA and plasmid transfections ......................................................................................... 67 Quantitative PCR analysis ................................................................................................... 68 Immunofluorescence and live cell microscopy .................................................................. 68 Western blot analysis ........................................................................................................... 70 Inclusion forming unit analysis .......................................................................................... 70 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................................. 71 Supplementary Information ...................................................................... 73 Chapter 4 – ER exit site proteins are recruited to the inclusion membrane and have disparate effects on Chlamydia growth ........................................................ 79 Introduction ..............................................................................................