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Christine Skerka

About Christine Skerka:
No description specified

SEEK ID: https://funginet.hki-jena.de/people/25

Location:  Germany

Expertise: Host-Pathogen Interaction, innate immunity, Biochemistry, Complement, Immunology

Tools: Immunological techniques, Biochemistry and protein analysis

ORCID: Not specified

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Molecular analyses identifies new domains and structural differences among Streptococcus pneumoniae immune evasion proteins PspC and Hic.
FungiNet C - Candida projects, C6 (E)

Abstract (Expand)

The PspC and Hic proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniae are some of the most variable microbial immune evasion proteins identified to date. Due to structural similarities and conserved binding profiles, … it was assumed for a long time that these pneumococcal surface proteins represent a protein family comprised of eleven subgroups. Recently, however, the evaluation of more proteins revealed a greater diversity of individual proteins. In contrast to previous assumptions a pattern evaluation of six PspC and five Hic variants, each representing one of the previously defined subgroups, revealed distinct structural and likely functionally regions of the proteins, and identified nine new domains and new domain alternates. Several domains are unique to PspC and Hic variants, while other domains are also present in other virulence factors encoded by pneumococci and other bacterial pathogens. This knowledge improved pattern evaluation at the level of full-length proteins, allowed a sequence comparison at the domain level and identified domains with a modular composition. This novel strategy increased understanding of individual proteins variability and modular domain composition, enabled a structural and functional characterization at the domain level and furthermore revealed substantial structural differences between PspC and Hic proteins. Given the exceptional genomic diversity of the multifunctional PspC and Hic proteins a detailed structural and functional evaluation need to be performed at the strain level. Such knowledge will also be useful for molecular strain typing and characterizing PspC and Hic proteins from new clinical S. pneumoniae strains.

Authors: S. Du, C. Vilhena, S. King, A. Sahagun-Ruiz, S. Hammerschmidt, Christine Skerka, Peter Zipfel

Date Published: 18th Jan 2021

Journal: Sci Rep

Immune modulation by complement receptor 3-dependent human monocyte TGF-beta1-transporting vesicles.
C4 (E)

Abstract (Expand)

Extracellular vesicles have an important function in cellular communication. Here, we show that human and mouse monocytes release TGF-beta1-transporting vesicles in response to the pathogenic fungus … Candida albicans. Soluble beta-glucan from C. albicans binds to complement receptor 3 (CR3, also known as CD11b/CD18) on monocytes and induces the release of TGF-beta1-transporting vesicles. CR3-dependence is demonstrated using CR3-deficient (CD11b knockout) monocytes generated by CRISPR-CAS9 genome editing and isolated from CR3-deficient (CD11b knockout) mice. These vesicles reduce the pro-inflammatory response in human M1-macrophages as well as in whole blood. Binding of the vesicle-transported TGF-beta1 to the TGF-beta receptor inhibits IL1B transcription via the SMAD7 pathway in whole blood and induces TGFB1 transcription in endothelial cells, which is resolved upon TGF-beta1 inhibition. Notably, human complement-opsonized apoptotic bodies induce production of similar TGF-beta1-transporting vesicles in monocytes, suggesting that the early immune response might be suppressed through this CR3-dependent anti-inflammatory vesicle pathway.

Authors: Luke Donald Halder, E. A. H. Jo, M. Z. Hasan, M. Ferreira-Gomes, Thomas Krüger, M. Westermann, D. I. Palme, G. Rambach, Niklas Beyersdorf, C. Speth, Ilse Jacobsen, Olaf Kniemeyer, Berit Jungnickel, Peter Zipfel, Christine Skerka

Date Published: 11th May 2020

Journal: Nat Commun

Enolase From Aspergillus fumigatus Is a Moonlighting Protein That Binds the Human Plasma Complement Proteins Factor H, FHL-1, C4BP, and Plasminogen.
FungiNet A - Aspergillus projects, FungiNet C - Candida projects, B4

Abstract (Expand)

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus can cause severe infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Upon infection, A. fumigatus faces the powerful and directly acting … immune defense of the human host. The mechanisms on how A. fumigatus evades innate immune attack and complement are still poorly understood. Here, we identify A. fumigatus enolase, AfEno1, which was also characterized as fungal allergen, as a surface ligand for human plasma complement regulators. AfEno1 binds factor H, factor-H-like protein 1 (FHL-1), C4b binding protein (C4BP), and plasminogen. Factor H attaches to AfEno1 via two regions, via short conserved repeats (SCRs) 6-7 and 19-20, and FHL-1 contacts AfEno1 via SCRs 6-7. Both regulators when bound to AfEno1 retain cofactor activity and assist in C3b inactivation. Similarly, the classical pathway regulator C4BP binds to AfEno1 and bound to AfEno1; C4BP assists in C4b inactivation. Plasminogen which binds to AfEno1 via lysine residues is accessible for the tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), and active plasmin cleaves the chromogenic substrate S2251, degrades fibrinogen, and inactivates C3 and C3b. Plasmin attached to swollen A. fumigatus conidia damages human A549 lung epithelial cells, reduces the cellular metabolic activity, and induces cell retraction, which results in exposure of the extracellular matrix. Thus, A. fumigatus AfEno1 is a moonlighting protein and virulence factor which recruits several human regulators. The attached human regulators allow the fungal pathogen to control complement at the level of C3 and to damage endothelial cell layers and tissue components.

Authors: Prasad Dasari, Naile Koleci, Iordana Shopova, D. Wartenberg, Niklas Beyersdorf, Stefanie Dietrich, A. Sahagun-Ruiz, Marc Thilo Figge, Christine Skerka, Axel Brakhage, Peter Zipfel

Date Published: 12th Dec 2019

Journal: Front Immunol

Serum FHR1 binding to necrotic-type cells activates monocytic inflammasome and marks necrotic sites in vasculopathies.
FungiNet total, FungiNet C - Candida projects, C4 (E)

Abstract (Expand)

Persistent inflammation is a hallmark of many human diseases, including anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) and atherosclerosis. Here, we describe a dominant trigger of … inflammation: human serum factor H-related protein FHR1. In vitro, this protein selectively binds to necrotic cells via its N-terminus; in addition, it binds near necrotic glomerular sites of AAV patients and necrotic areas in atherosclerotic plaques. FHR1, but not factor H, FHR2 or FHR3 strongly induces inflammasome NLRP3 in blood-derived human monocytes, which subsequently secrete IL-1beta, TNFalpha, IL-18 and IL-6. FHR1 triggers the phospholipase C-pathway via the G-protein coupled receptor EMR2 independent of complement. Moreover, FHR1 concentrations of AAV patients negatively correlate with glomerular filtration rates and associate with the levels of inflammation and progressive disease. These data highlight an unexpected role for FHR1 during sterile inflammation, may explain why FHR1-deficiency protects against certain diseases, and identifies potential targets for treatment of auto-inflammatory diseases.

Authors: Sarah Irmscher, S. R. Brix, Peter Zipfel, Luke Donald Halder, S. Mutluturk, S. Wulf, E. Girdauskas, H. Reichenspurner, R. A. K. Stahl, Berit Jungnickel, T. Wiech, Peter Zipfel, Christine Skerka

Date Published: 4th Jul 2019

Journal: Nat Commun

Molecular crypsis by pathogenic fungi using human factor H. A numerical model.
B1

Abstract (Expand)

Molecular mimicry is the formation of specific molecules by microbial pathogens to avoid recognition and attack by the immune system of the host. Several pathogenic Ascomycota and Zygomycota show such … a behaviour by utilizing human complement factor H to hide in the blood stream. We call this type of mimicry molecular crypsis. Such a crypsis can reach a point where the immune system can no longer clearly distinguish between self and non-self cells. Thus, a trade-off between attacking disguised pathogens and erroneously attacking host cells has to be made. Based on signalling theory and protein-interaction modelling, we here present a mathematical model of molecular crypsis of pathogenic fungi using the example of Candida albicans. We tackle the question whether perfect crypsis is feasible, which would imply that protection of human cells by complement factors would be useless. The model identifies pathogen abundance relative to host cell abundance as the predominant factor influencing successful or unsuccessful molecular crypsis. If pathogen cells gain a (locally) quantitative advantage over host cells, even autoreactivity may occur. Our new model enables insights into the mechanisms of candidiasis-induced sepsis and complement-associated autoimmune diseases.

Authors: S. N. Lang, S. Germerodt, C. Glock, Christine Skerka, Peter Zipfel, Stefan Schuster

Date Published: 20th Feb 2019

Journal: PLoS One

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