👤 Martin Pollard

Salmonella Typhi secretes typhoid toxin that activates cellular DNA damage responses (DDR) during acute typhoid fever. Human infection challenge studies revealed that the toxin suppresses bacteraemia via unknown mechanisms. Using quantitative proteomic analysis on the plasma of bacteraemic participants, we demonstrate that wild-type toxigenic Salmonella induced secretion of lysozyme (LYZ) and apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3). Recombinant typhoid toxin or Salmonella infection recapitulated LYZ and APOC3 secretion in cultured cells, which involved ATM/ATR-dependent DDRs and confirmed observations in typhoid fever. LYZ caused spheroplast formation, inhibited the Salmonella type 3 secretion system, and intracellular infections. LYZ expression was regulated by p53 in a cell type-specific manner and driven by mitochondrial oxidative stress that caused nuclear DDRs and p53-mediated senescence responses. Addition of LYZ inhibited oxidative DNA damage and resulting senescence responses caused by typhoid toxin. Our findings may indicate that toxin-induced DDRs elicit antimicrobial responses, which suppress Salmonella bacteraemia during typhoid fever. Show less

Myosin-19 (Myo19) is a mitochondrially localized actin-based motor important for regulating mitochondrial homeostasis, including the stabilization of mitochondrial-endoplasmic reticulum (mitoER) contact sites. Thus, proper regulation of Myo19 is likely required to maintain mitochondrial health and function, but little is known about regulatory mechanisms. Non-muscle tropomyosins are known to differentially regulate members of the myosin superfamily, leading us to hypothesize that tropomyosins may regulate Myo19-actin filament interactions. Here, we show that the interaction of Myo19 with actin filaments is inhibited by the association of Tropomyosin 3.1 (Tpm3.1) and 1.7 (Tpm1.7) with F-actin. This inhibition is highly cooperative, as both Tpm isoforms induce an all-or-none stalling of Myo19-driven filaments in in vitro gliding assays. In HeLa cells, Tpm3.1 is associated with actin filaments in close proximity to mitochondria. This localization is dynamic, as Tpm3.1 interacts with the mitochondrially-associated actin wave in interphase cells. These findings point toward a tropomyosin-based regulatory mechanism that spatially regulates Myo19 activity in a dynamic manner. Show less

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common inherited blood disorder among African Americans (AA), with premature mortality which has been associated with prolongation of the heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc), a known risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Although numerous genetic variants have been identified as contributors to QT interval prolongation in the general population, their impact on SCD patients remains unclear. This study used an unweighted polygenic risk score (PRS) to validate the previously identified associations between SNPs and QTc interval in SCD patients, and to explore possible interactions with other factors that prolong QTc interval in AA individuals with SCD. In SCD patients, candidate genetic variants associated with the QTc interval were genotyped. To identify any risk SNPs that may be correlated with QTc interval prolongation, linear regression was employed, and an unweighted PRS was subsequently constructed. The effect of PRS on the QTc interval was evaluated using linear regression, while stratification analysis was used to assess the influence of serum alanine transaminase (ALT), a biomarker for liver disease, on the PRS effect. We also evaluated the PRS with the two subcomponents of QTc, the QRS and JTc intervals. Out of 26 candidate SNPs, five risk SNPs were identified for QTc duration under the recessive model. For every unit increase in PRS, the QTc interval prolonged by 4.0 ms (95% CI: [2.0, 6.1]; p-value: <0.001) in the additive model and 9.4 ms in the recessive model (95% CI: [4.6, 14.1]; p-value: <0.001). Serum ALT showed a modification effect on PRS-QTc prolongation under the recessive model. In the normal ALT group, each PRS unit increased QTc interval by 11.7 ms (95% CI: [6.3, 17.1]; p-value: 2.60E-5), whereas this effect was not observed in the elevated ALT group (0.9 ms; 95% CI: [-7.0, 8.8]; p-value: 0.823). Several candidate genetic variants are associated with QTc interval prolongation in SCD patients, and serum ALT acts as a modifying factor. The association of a CPS1 gene variant in both QTc and JTc duration adds to NOS1AP as evidence of involvement of the urea cycle and nitric oxide metabolism in cardiac repolarization in SCD. Larger replication studies are needed to confirm these findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Show less

A large proportion of genetic risk remains unexplained for structural heart disease involving the interventricular septum (IVS) including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and ventricular septal defects. This study sought to develop a reproducible proxy of IVS structure from standard medical imaging, discover novel genetic determinants of IVS structure, and relate these loci to diseases of the IVS, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and ventricular septal defect. We estimated the cross-sectional area of the IVS from the 4-chamber view of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in 32 219 individuals from the UK Biobank which was used as the basis of genome wide association studies and Mendelian randomization. Measures of IVS cross-sectional area at diastole were a strong proxy for the 3-dimensional volume of the IVS (Pearson Automated estimates of cross-sectional area of the IVS supports discovery of novel loci related to cardiac development and Mendelian disease. Inheritance of genetic liability for either small or large IVS, appears to confer risk for ventricular septal defect or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, respectively. These data suggest that a proportion of risk for structural and congenital heart disease can be localized to the common genetic determinants of size and shape of cardiovascular anatomy. Show less

Myosin-19 (Myo19) controls the size, morphology, and distribution of mitochondria, but the underlying role of Myo19 motor activity is unknown. Complicating mechanistic in vitro studies, the identity of the light chains (LCs) of Myo19 remains unsettled. Here, we show by coimmunoprecipitation, reconstitution, and proteomics that the three IQ motifs of human Myo19 expressed in Expi293 human cells bind regulatory light chain (RLC12B) and calmodulin (CaM). We demonstrate that overexpression of Myo19 in HeLa cells enhances the recruitment of both Myo19 and RLC12B to mitochondria, suggesting cellular association of RLC12B with the motor. Further experiments revealed that RLC12B binds IQ2 and is flanked by two CaM molecules. In vitro, we observed that the maximal speed (∼350 nm/s) occurs when Myo19 is supplemented with CaM, but not RLC12B, suggesting maximal motility requires binding of CaM to IQ-1 and IQ-3. The addition of calcium slowed actin gliding (∼200 nm/s) without an apparent effect on CaM affinity. Furthermore, we show that small ensembles of Myo19 motors attached to quantum dots can undergo processive runs over several microns, and that calcium reduces the attachment frequency and run length of Myo19. Together, our data are consistent with a model where a few single-headed Myo19 molecules attached to a mitochondrion can sustain prolonged motile associations with actin in a CaM- and calcium-dependent manner. Based on these properties, we propose that Myo19 can function in mitochondria transport along actin filaments, tension generation on multiple randomly oriented filaments, and/or pushing against branched actin networks assembled near the membrane surface. Show less

Microtubules of the mitotic spindle direct cytokinesis in metazoans but this has not been documented in fungi. We report evidence that microtubule nucleators at the spindle pole body help coordinate cytokinetic furrow formation in fission yeast. The temperature-sensitive Show less

The role of rare variants in complex traits remains uncharted. Here, we conduct deep whole genome sequencing of 1457 individuals from an isolated population, and test for rare variant burdens across six cardiometabolic traits. We identify a role for rare regulatory variation, which has hitherto been missed. We find evidence of rare variant burdens that are independent of established common variant signals (ADIPOQ and adiponectin, P = 4.2 × 10 Show less

Aip1p cooperates with actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin to disassemble actin filaments in vitro and in vivo, and is proposed to cap actin filament barbed ends. We address the synergies between Aip1p and the capping protein heterodimer Acp1p/Acp2p during clathrin-mediated endocytosis in fission yeast. Using quantitative microscopy and new methods we have developed for data alignment and analysis, we show that heterodimeric capping protein can replace Aip1p, but Aip1p cannot replace capping protein in endocytic patches. Our quantitative analysis reveals that the actin meshwork is organized radially and is compacted by the cross-linker fimbrin before the endocytic vesicle is released from the plasma membrane. Capping protein and Aip1p help maintain the high density of actin filaments in meshwork by keeping actin filaments close enough for cross-linking. Our experiments also reveal new cellular functions for Acp1p and Acp2p independent of their capping activity. We identified two independent pathways that control polarization of endocytic sites, one depending on acp2(+) and aip1(+) during interphase and the other independent of acp1(+), acp2(+), and aip1(+) during mitosis. Show less

Fission yeast capping protein SpCP is a heterodimer of two subunits (Acp1p and Acp2p) that binds actin filament barbed ends. Neither acp1 nor acp2 is required for viability, but cells lacking either or both subunits have cytokinesis defects under stressful conditions, including elevated temperature, osmotic stress, or in combination with numerous mild mutations in genes important for cytokinesis. Defects arise as the contractile ring constricts and disassembles, resulting in delays in cell separation. Genetic and biochemical interactions show that the cytokinesis formin Cdc12p competes with capping protein for actin filament barbed ends in cells. Deletion of acp2 partly suppresses cytokinesis defects in temperature-sensitive cdc12-112 cells and mild overexpression of capping protein kills cdc12-112 cells. Biochemically, profilin has opposite effects on filaments capped with Cdc12p and capping protein. Profilin depolymerizes actin filaments capped by capping protein but allows filaments capped by Cdc12p to grow at their barbed ends. Once associated with a barbed end, either Cdc12p or capping protein prevents the other from influencing polymerization at that end. Given that capping protein arrives at the division site 20 min later than Cdc12p, capping protein may slowly replace Cdc12p on filament barbed ends in preparation for filament disassembly during ring constriction. Show less