Structure, Function and Regulation of Antimicrobial and Virulent Amyloids at High-resolution

Projektbeschreibung

Amyloidfasern bei Infektionen

Manche Proteine haben die Fähigkeit zur Selbstorganisation in längliche Strukturen, sogenannte Amyloide, die nicht nur mit Krankheiten, sondern auch mit der antimikrobiellen Abwehr und der bakteriellen Virulenz in Verbindung gebracht werden. Die Auswirkungen von Form und Struktur dieser Fasern auf ihre Funktionalität sind jedoch noch kaum bekannt. Ziel des ERC-finanzierten FuncAmyloid-Projekts ist es, die von Bakterien wie Staphylococcus aureus und Pseudomonas aeruginosa produzierten Amyloidfasern zu untersuchen und ihre Rolle als Toxine oder bei der Biofilmbildung zu klären. Die Forschung möchte mittels fortschrittlicher Mikroskopie und Strukturanalyse verstehen, wie verschiedene Faserformen mit Zellmembranen interagieren und Schäden verursachen. Die Projektergebnisse werden zur Entwicklung neuer antimikrobieller Peptide und Moleküle beitragen, und den Weg für neue Strategien zur Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten ebnen.

Ziel

Self-assembly of proteins and peptides into amyloid fibrils produced across kingdoms of life is associated with antimicrobial activity, microbial pathogenicity, and a wide range of diseases. The correlation of fibrillation and morphology to function is poorly understood, and high-resolution structural information and mechanistic models are lacking. Our lab pioneered the atomic-level analysis of bacterial amyloids and eukaryotic functional fibrils involved in cytotoxicity, biofilm structuring, and antibacterial activity. We revealed novel morphologies extending beyond canonical amyloid cross- structures of tightly mated -sheets, to include, for example, cross- fibrils composed on amphipathic -helices. In addition, we exposed a unique lipid-induced cross-/ secondary structure switch in fibrils of the same sequence. Here we investigate amyloid fibrils which serve as key virulence determinants in S. aureus and Pseudomonas acting as cytotoxins and in biofilm scaffolding, and as antimicrobials produced across different species. We will leverage the knowledge and expertise, and newly emerging methods in electron, light and force microscopy, to understand how fibrillation propensity, fibril morphology and structural switches are connected to function, membrane interactions and toxicity mechanisms at high resolution. The findings are expected to identify structural features that underlie the formation, regulation, and activity of these fibrils, providing advantages in specific environments. Understanding these structure-function relationships will help to clarify the link between amyloid formation and antimicrobial activity. We will use the insights gained from these studies for the rational design of antimicrobial peptides and small molecules targeting virulent determinants towards potential applications in the management of infectious diseases. Our findings on functional amyloids can overall advance life, material, medical and environmental sciences.