A G-protein-coupled chemoattractant receptor recognizes lipopolysaccharide for bacterial phagocytosis

Pan, M., Neilson, M. P., Grunfeld, A. M., Cruz, P., Wen, X., Insall, R. H. and Jin, T. (2018) A G-protein-coupled chemoattractant receptor recognizes lipopolysaccharide for bacterial phagocytosis. PLoS Biology, 16(5), e2005754. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005754) (PMID:29799847) (PMCID:PMC5969738)

Abstract

Phagocytes locate microorganisms via chemotaxis and then consume them using phagocytosis. Dictyostelium amoebas are stereotypical phagocytes that prey on diverse bacteria using both processes. However, as typical phagocytic receptors, such as complement receptors or Fcγ receptors, have not been found in Dictyostelium, it remains mysterious how these cells recognize bacteria. Here, we show that a single G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), folic acid receptor 1 (fAR1), simultaneously recognizes the chemoattractant folate and the phagocytic cue lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of bacterial surfaces. Cells lacking fAR1 or its cognate G-proteins are defective in chemotaxis toward folate and phagocytosis of Klebsiella aerogenes. Computational simulations combined with experiments show that responses associated with chemotaxis can also promote engulfment of particles coated with chemoattractants. Finally, the extracellular Venus-Flytrap (VFT) domain of fAR1 acts as the binding site for both folate and LPS. Thus, fAR1 represents a new member of the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and mediates signaling from both bacterial surfaces and diffusible chemoattractants to reorganize actin for chemotaxis and phagocytosis.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Insall, Professor Robert and Neilson, Dr Matthew

Creator Roles

Neilson, M. P.: Investigation, Software
Insall, R. H.: Formal analysis, Software, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Pan, M., Neilson, M. P., Grunfeld, A. M., Cruz, P., Wen, X., Insall, R. H., and Jin, T.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: PLoS Biology
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1544-9173
• ISSN (Online): 1545-7885
• Copyright Holders: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose
• First Published: First published in PLoS Biology 16(5): e2005754
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License