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Scientists in Japan have discovered a "surprisingly simple" mechanism through which enterics can adjust to the very different oxygen environments inside the human gut and outside, which opens a new potential target against these bacteria, a Japanese research institution said Tuesday.
Scientists from RIKEN, a comprehensive research institution in Japan, found that a subtle change in an enzyme called Lon, which is involved in the process of proteolysis, allows these bacteria to quickly adapt between the changing oxygen environments inside the gut - where there is practically no oxygen - and outside, where there is plenty, according to a release issued by RIKEN.
Proteolysis is an important process through which cells degrade unneeded proteins, and it must be tightly controlled to avoid cellular damage.
The team, led by Shigeyuki Yokoyama and Wataru Nishii of the Structural Biology Laboratory, "discovered a small and surprisingly simple conformational change, based on a single disulfide bond, that acts as the switch, allowing the cell to go into a higher proteolysis mode when exposed to an oxygen-rich aerobic environment," said the release.
"We were very surprised by the fact that a tiny structural change, caused by the bonding and reduction of a single disulfide bond, had such a strong effect on molecular and cellular functions, " said Wataru Nishii, adding that "this is the first example of an 'allosteric disulfide bond' that actually regulates the molecular function in normal physiological conditions."
"Though it remains a target for future investigation, it is an interesting possibility that such mechanisms may also exist in other proteins," said Nishii.
"Pathologically speaking, we have discovered a novel mechanism through which enterics can proliferate inside and outside the host 's body. It was an unexpected, and could lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of infectious diseases. It is tempting to imagine that the mechanism could become a new therapeutic target in infectious diseases," said Shigeyuki Yokoyama.
"Developing drugs would be quite important, since enterics cause a number of very familiar diseases that can be deadly, especially in weakened patients," said Yokoyama.
