Crystal structures of Wzb of Escherichia coli and CpsB of Streptococcus pneumoniae, representatives of two families of tyrosine phosphatases that regulate capsule assembly.

ABSTRACT: Many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria utilize polysaccharide surface layers called capsules to evade the immune system; consequently, the synthesis and export of the capsule are a potential therapeutic target. In Escherichia coli K-30, the integral membrane tyrosine autokinase Wzc and the cognate phosphatase Wzb have been shown to be key for both synthesis and assembly of capsular polysaccharides. In the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, the CpsCD complex is analogous to Wzc and the phosphatase CpsB is the corresponding cognate phosphatase. The phosphatases are known to dephosphorylate their corresponding autokinases, yet despite their functional equivalence, they share no sequence homology. We present the structure of Wzb in complex with phosphate and high-resoluti

SUBMITTER: Hagelueken G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2777267 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature