Structural highlights
Function
[CSGA_ECOLI] Curlin is the structural subunit of the curli fimbriae. Curli are coiled surface structures that assemble preferentially at growth temperatures below 37 degrees Celsius. Curli can bind to fibronectin.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Curli amyloid fibrils secreted by Enterobacteriaceae mediate host cell adhesion and contribute to biofilm formation, thereby promoting bacterial resistance to environmental stressors. Here, we present crystal structures of amyloid-forming segments from the major curli subunit, CsgA, revealing steric zipper fibrils of tightly mated beta-sheets, demonstrating a structural link between curli and human pathological amyloids. D-enantiomeric peptides, originally developed to interfere with Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid-beta, inhibited CsgA fibrillation and reduced biofilm formation in Salmonella typhimurium. Moreover, as previously shown, CsgA fibrils cross-seeded fibrillation of amyloid-beta, providing support for the proposed structural resemblance and potential for cross-species amyloid interactions. The presented findings provide structural insights into amyloidogenic regions important for curli formation, suggest a novel strategy for disrupting amyloid-structured biofilms, and hypothesize on the formation of self-propagating prion-like species originating from a microbial source that could influence neurodegenerative diseases.
Structural Insights into Curli CsgA Cross-beta Fibril Architecture Inspire Repurposing of Anti-amyloid Compounds as Anti-biofilm Agents.,Perov S, Lidor O, Salinas N, Golan N, Tayeb-Fligelman E, Deshmukh M, Willbold D, Landau M PLoS Pathog. 2019 Aug 30;15(8):e1007978. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007978., eCollection 2019 Aug. PMID:31469892[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Perov S, Lidor O, Salinas N, Golan N, Tayeb-Fligelman E, Deshmukh M, Willbold D, Landau M. Structural Insights into Curli CsgA Cross-beta Fibril Architecture Inspire Repurposing of Anti-amyloid Compounds as Anti-biofilm Agents. PLoS Pathog. 2019 Aug 30;15(8):e1007978. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007978., eCollection 2019 Aug. PMID:31469892 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007978