The bacterial metalloprotease NleD selectively cleaves mitogen-activated protein kinases that have high flexibility in their activation loop.

ABSTRACT: Microbial pathogens often target the host mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) network to suppress host immune responses. We previously identified a bacterial type III secretion system effector, termed NleD, a metalloprotease that inactivates MAPKs by specifically cleaving their activation loop. Here, we show that NleDs form a growing family of virulence factors harbored by human and plant pathogens as well as insect symbionts. These NleDs disable specifically Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) and p38s that are required for host immune response, whereas extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), which is essential for host cell viability, remains intact. We investigated the mechanism that makes ERK resistant to NleD cleavage. Biochemical and structural analyses revealed that NleD exclusiv

SUBMITTER: Gur-Arie L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7363137 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature