Elucidation of Key Interactions between VirF and the virB Promoter in Shigella flexneri Using E. coli MarA- and GadX-Based Homology Models and In Vitro Analysis of the DNA-Binding Domains of VirF and MarA.

ABSTRACT: Infection with Shigella, the organism responsible for the diarrheal disease shigellosis, leads to approximately 200,000 deaths globally annually. Virulence of this pathogen is primarily controlled by the DNA-binding transcriptional activator VirF. This AraC family protein activates transcription of two major virulence genes, virB and icsA, which lead to the pathogen's ability to invade and spread within colonic epithelial cells. While several AraC proteins have been studied, few studies of VirF's binding to its DNA promoters have been reported, and VirF's three-dimensional structure remains unsolved. Here, we used structures of two E. coli VirF homologs, GadX and MarA-marRAB, to generate homology models of the VirF DNA-binding domain in free and DNA-bound confor

SUBMITTER: Ragazzone NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9487632 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature