Structure of VanS from vancomycin-resistant enterococci: A sensor kinase with weak ATP binding.

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Source:

J Biol Chem, Volume 299, Issue 3, p.103001 (2023)

Keywords:

Adenosine Triphosphate, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Bacterial Proteins, Histidine Kinase, Nucleotides, Protein Kinases, Transcription Factors, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

Abstract:

<p>The VanRS two-component system regulates the resistance phenotype of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. VanS is a sensor histidine kinase that responds to the presence of vancomycin by autophosphorylating and subsequently transferring the phosphoryl group to the response regulator, VanR. The phosphotransfer activates VanR as a transcription factor, which initiates the expression of resistance genes. Structural information about VanS proteins has remained elusive, hindering the molecular-level understanding of their function. Here, we present X-ray crystal structures for the catalytic and ATP-binding (CA) domains of two VanS proteins, derived from vancomycin-resistant enterococci types A and C. Both proteins adopt the canonical Bergerat fold that has been observed for CA domains of other prokaryotic histidine kinases. We attempted to determine structures for the nucleotide-bound forms of both proteins; however, despite repeated efforts, these forms could not be crystallized, prompting us to measure the proteins&#39; binding affinities for ATP. Unexpectedly, both CA domains displayed low affinities for the nucleotide, with K values in the low millimolar range. Since these K values are comparable to intracellular ATP concentrations, this weak substrate binding could reflect a way of regulating expression of the resistance phenotype.</p>

PDB: 
8DWZ (VanSA CA domain, 7-keV data set); 8DVQ (VanSA CA domain, 13.5-keV data set); and 8DX0 (VanSC CA domain).
Detector: 
PILATUS
Beamline: 
24-ID-C