May the force be with you: the role of hyper-mechanostability of the bone sialoprotein binding protein during early stages of Staphylococci infections

Abstract

AbstractThe bone sialoprotein-binding protein (Bbp) is a mechanoactive MSCRAMM protein expressed on the surface ofStaphylococcus aureusthat mediates adherence of the bacterium to fibrinogen-α(Fgα), a component of the bone and dentine extracellular matrix of the host cell. Mechanoactive proteins like Bbp have key roles in several physiological and pathological processes. Particularly, the Bbp:Fgαinteraction is important in the formation of biofilms, an important virulence factor of pathogenic bacteria. Here, we investigated the mechanostability of the Bbp:Fgαcomplex usingin silicosingle-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS), in an approach that combines results from all-atom and coarse-grained steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations. Our results show that Bbp is the most mechanostable MSCRAMM investigated thus far, reaching rupture forces beyond the 2 nN range in typical experimental SMFS pulling rates. Our results show that high force-loads, which are common during initial stages of bacterial infection, stabilize the interconnection between the protein’s amino acids, making the protein more “rigid”. Our results offer new insights that are crucial on the development of novel anti-adhesion strategies.