Canonical and phosphoribosyl ubiquitination coordinate to stabilize a proteinaceous structure surrounding the Legionella-containing vacuole

  1. Adriana Steinbach
  2. Chetan Mokkapati
  3. Puspangana Singh
  4. Shaeri Mukherjee  Is a corresponding author
  1. G.W. Hooper Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States
  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, United States
  3. Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, United States
7 figures, 1 table and 1 additional file

Figures

Figure 1 with 1 supplement
Rab5A forms a ‘cloud’ around the WT LCV in a bacterial effector dependent manner.

(A) Endogenous Rab5A recruitment to the WT or dotA LCV in HeLa FcγR. (B) LCV-associated Rab5A area normalized to bacterial cell area for WT and dotA strains. N=5, 8–30 LCVs measured per strain per replicate. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.0009. In this and all subsequent jitter plots, small points represent individual measurements, large points are mean values across a given biological replicate, and horizontal bars depict the sample mean across replicates. Color corresponds to biological replicate. (C) Endogenous Rab5A staining in cells overexpressing EGFP or indicated fusion constructs. (D) Mean endosome area per cell in samples overexpressing indicated construct. N=3, 20–40 cells scored per replicate. ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, ** p<0.005, ***p<0.0005. (E) Manual scoring of endogenous Rab5 recruitment to WT or dotA LCVs in cells overexpressing indicated construct. N=3, 50–130 LCVs scored per replicate. G test, Bonferroni adj. p-value = 0.0125, ***p<0.000125. (F) LCV-associated Rab5A area as in panel (B) in cells expressing indicated construct. N=3, 10–30 LCVs scored per replicate. ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05. For all infection experiments, cells were fixed at 1 hpi.

Figure 1—figure supplement 1
Rab5 nucleotide binding mutants are recruited to the WT LCV and ubiquitinated during infection.

(A) Representative image of mCherry Rab5A S34N recruitment to the WT LCV at 4 hpi in HeLa FcγR cells. Scale bar = 10 μm. (B) Quantification of recruitment of the indicated mCherry fusion Rab5 variant to the WT LCV at 4 hpi. Three biological replicates, N=3, 25–50 LCVs analyzed per condition per replicate. (C) Western blot analysis of whole cell lysates prepared from HEK293T FcγR cells transiently transfected with the indicated Flag-tagged Rab5A variant and infected with L.p. WT for 5 hours. Molecular weight indicated in kDa.

Figure 2 with 1 supplement
The SidE family is required for Rab5 cloud formation at the LCV.

(A) Endogenous Rab5A recruitment to the LCV for the indicated strains in HeLa FcγR. (B) LCV-associated Rab5 area normalized to bacterial cell size for the indicated strains. N=3, 5–60 LCVs scored per strain per replicate. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05, *p<0.05, **p<0.005. (C) Immunoprecipitation of Flag-Rab5A from cells expressing HA ubiquitin ΔGG and indicated myc-tagged SidE family effector, or vector control. (D) Immunoprecipitation of Flag-Rab5A from cells expressing HA ubiquitin ΔGG and infected with indicated L.p. strain. For (C) and (D), * indicates non-specific band, most likely light chain. For all infection experiments, cells were fixed or lysed at 1 hpi. For all blots, molecular weight is indicated in kDa.

Figure 2—source data 1

CellProfiler output and processed data for plot in Figure 2B (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig2-data1-v1.csv
Figure 2—source data 2

Tif files for original images of Western blots in Figure 2C, D.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig2-data2-v1.zip
Figure 2—source data 3

PDF file with relevant bands for Western blots in Figure 2C and D with relevant bands labeled.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig2-data3-v1.zip
Figure 2—figure supplement 1
SdeB EE/AA is unable to catalyze PR-ubiquitination.

Western blot analysis of HA-Ub ΔGG conjugation in whole cell lysates prepared from HEK293T FcγR cells infected with the indicated L.p. strain for 1 hour. Molecular weights indicated in kDa.

Figure 2—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Tif files for original image of Western blots in Figure 2—figure supplement 1.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig2-figsupp1-data1-v1.zip
Figure 2—figure supplement 1—source data 2

PDF file for original images of Western blots in Figure 2—figure supplement 1 with relevant bands labeled.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig2-figsupp1-data2-v1.zip
Figure 3 with 1 supplement
Rab5 is detergent resistant when associated with the WT LCV.

(A) Saponin vs SDS permeabilized uninfected cells stained for endogenous Rab5A. (B) Quantification of normalized total Rab5 fluorescence in cells permeabilized as in panel (A). N=3, 50 cells scored per condition per replicate. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.00069.(C) Endogenous Rab5A immunofluorescence in infected cells after either saponin or SDS permeabilization. (D) Quantification of experiment described in panel (C). N=3, 80–250 LCVs scored per condition per replicate. Welch’s ANOVA followed by Games–Howell post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05, *p<0.05. For all infection experiments, cells were fixed at 1 hpi.

Figure 3—figure supplement 1
Validation of dual-stain method for detection of extracellular bacteria.

(A) Representative images of cells permeabilized either before or after Bap31 primary antibody and GAR-405 staining. (B) Pearson correlation of GAR-633 and GAR-405 signal in cells prepared as in flowchart shown in (A). N=2, 50 cells analyzed per replicate per condition. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.006. (C) Representative images of cells infected with L.p. WT and processed using dual stain method for the L.p. opsonization antibody, as well as immunofluorescence analysis of endogenous Rab5. Double stained (extracellular) bacteria are indicated by blue arrows, whereas single stained (intracellular) bacteria are indicated by magenta arrows. (D) Quantification of normalized Rab5 intensity at either double (405+) or single (405-) stained bacteria. N=4,~30–90 bacteria scored per replicate per condition. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.0127. (E) Measurement of normalized GAR405 intensity at bacterial cell bodies for same dataset described in (D). Welch’s t-test, p=0.0002. (F) Distribution of Rab5 intensity values for dataset described in (D). For each replicate, data was pooled, and the percentage of 405+versus 405- bacteria falling into each quartile was tabulated. (G) Normalized GAR405 intensity vs. normalized Rab5 intensity for dataset described in (D). Note that very few datapoints show strong signal for both Rab5 and GAR405. Color represents biological replicate (N=4), 418 total bacteria scored.

The SidE family of effectors regulates ubiquitin morphology at the LCV.

(A) Manual scoring immunofluorescence imaging of endogenous ubiquitin recruitment to the indicated L.p. strain. N=3, 60–120 LCVs scored per strain per replicate. G test, Bonferroni adj. p-value = 0.01. ***p<0.0001. (B) Representative images of endogenous ubiquitin recruitment to indicated strain in experiment described in panel (A). (C) Quantification of LCV-associated ubiquitin area normalized to bacterial cell area for indicated strain for experiment described in (A). N=4, 20–120 LCVs scored per strain per replicate. Welch’s ANOVA followed by Games–Howell post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05, *p<0.05.

Figure 5 with 1 supplement
Ubiquitin at the WT LCV resists detergent washout in a SidE family-dependent manner.

(A) Endogenous ubiquitin immunofluorescence in cells infected with the indicated strain and permeabilized with either saponin or SDS. (B) Quantification of normalized ubiquitin fluorescence at the LCV for experiment described in (A). N=3, 87–240 LCVs scored per strain per replicate. ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05. (C) Background-normalized cytosolic ubiquitin intensity in infected or uninfected cells after SDS washout. 17–72 cells analyzed per condition per replicate. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.09334. (D, E) Immunoblot analysis of total ubiquitin in the (D) soluble or (E) insoluble fraction of cells infected with the indicated L.p. strain from the ΔsidE/sdeABC panel, heat shocked, or left untreated, with total protein (StainFree, Bio-Rad) shown as the loading control. (F) Quantification of normalized high molecular weight ubiquitin in experiments described for (D) and (E). Total endogenous ubiquitin intensity was measured at 150 kDa and above and normalized to total protein and the fold change over the dotA infected control was calculated. N=3, ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test when applicable, n.s. p>0.05, *p<0.05, **p<0.005. (G–I) Western blot analysis and quantification of soluble-insoluble fractionation carried out on cells infected with the L.psidC/sdcA strain panel as described for (D–F). For all blots, molecular weight is indicated in kDa.

Figure 5—source data 1

CellProfiler output and processed data for plot in Figure 5B (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data1-v1.zip
Figure 5—source data 2

CellProfiler output and processed data for plot in Figure 5C (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data2-v1.csv
Figure 5—source data 3

Tif files for original images of Western blots and StainFree images in Figure 5D, E, G and H.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data3-v1.zip
Figure 5—source data 4

PDF file with original images of Western blots and StainFree images in Figure 5D, E, G and H with relevant bands labeled.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data4-v1.zip
Figure 5—source data 5

Blot quantification for Figure 5F (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data5-v1.csv
Figure 5—source data 6

Blot quantification for Figure 5I (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig5-data6-v1.csv
Figure 5—figure supplement 1
Extended representative images of ubiquitin detergent resistance.

Endogenous ubiquitin staining in cells infected with the indicated strain and permeabilized with either saponin or SDS at 1 hpi.

Figure 6 with 1 supplement
LCV-associated ubiquitin stability decreases as infection progresses.

(A) Immunofluorescence analysis of endogenous ubiquitin localization to the WT LCV at the indicated timepoint post-infection after permeabilization with either saponin or SDS. (B) Normalized ubiquitin intensity quantified for the experiment described in (A). Bacteria per LCV were approximated by dividing the area of each LCV by the mean LCV area for the 1 hpi timepoint for each experiment and permeabilization condition. Intensity data was subjected to one-way ANOVA, followed by a Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s p>0.05, ***p<0.0005. (C, D) Immunoblot analysis of endogenous ubiquitin in cells infected with either L.p. WT or dotA for the indicated length of time and fractionated by solubility. Total protein (StainFree) is shown as a loading control. (E) Quantification of normalized high molecular weight ubiquitin in experiments described for (C) and (E). Total endogenous ubiquitin intensity was measured at 150 kDa and above and normalized to total protein, and the fold change over the dotA infected control was calculated. N=3, ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05, **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005. (F) Quantification of normalized ubiquitin intensity at the WT LCV at 1 hpi after saponin or SDS permeabilization in host cells expressing either EGFP or EGFP DupA. Points represent mean values for each biological replicate for a given condition, and replicates are indicated by color. (G) Analysis of the distribution of the normalized LCV-associated ubiquitin intensity values for the experiment described in panel (E). For all blots, molecular weight is indicated in kDa.

Figure 6—source data 1

CellProfiler output and processed data for plot in Figure 6B (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-data1-v1.csv
Figure 6—source data 2

Tif files for original images of Western blots and StainFree images in Figure 6C and D.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-data2-v1.zip
Figure 6—source data 3

PDF file with original images of Western blots and StainFree images in Figure 6C and D with relevant bands labeled.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-data3-v1.zip
Figure 6—source data 4

Blot quantification for Figure 6E (.csv).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-data4-v1.csv
Figure 6—source data 5

CellProfiler output and processed data for plots in Figure 6F and G.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-data5-v1.csv
Figure 6—figure supplement 1
Ectopically expressed EGFP-DupA is active against PR-ubiquitin conjugates.

(A) Western blot analysis of lysates from cells transfected with HA-ubiquitin ΔGG and the indicated construct (LotC is a canonical ubiquitin ligase effector), and either left uninfected or infected with L.p. WT. Molecular weight is indicated in kDa. (B) Representative images of endogenous ubiquitin staining in cells transfected with either EGFP alone or EGFP-DupA, infected with L.p. WT, and permeabilized with either saponin or SDS. For all infection experiments, cells were fixed or lysed at 1 hpi.

Figure 6—figure supplement 1—source data 1

Tif files for original images of Western blots in Figure 6—figure supplement 1A.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-figsupp1-data1-v1.zip
Figure 6—figure supplement 1—source data 2

PDF file with images of Western blots in Figure 6—figure supplement 1A with relevant bands labeled.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/108254/elife-108254-fig6-figsupp1-data2-v1.zip
Figure 7 with 5 supplements
Ubiquitin expands outwards from the WT LCV during early infection and is co-recruited with Rab5.

(A) Insets from live imaging time courses (see movies S1 and S2) of cells expressing EGFP ubiquitin infected with indicated L.p. strain labeled using the HaloTag system. (B) LCV-associated ubiquitin area normalized to bacterial cell area for LCVs shown in panel (A). (C) Percentage of LCVs falling into ‘compact’ or ‘expansive category’. ‘Compact’ defined as normalized ubiquitin area at T30/T0≤1.5, ‘expansive’ indicates normalized ubiquitin area at T30/T0>1.5. Data was pooled across three biological replicates, 49 LCVs total for L.p. WT, 41 for L.psidE/sdeABC. (D) Normalized LCV-associated ubiquitin area across imaging time course for indicated L.p. strains. Violin plots show distribution of pooled data, and dots indicate mean values for each biological replicate. N=3, 6–30 LCVs scored per replicate. ANOVA, Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, n.s. p>0.05, *p<0.05, **p<0.005. (E, F) Insets from timelapse imaging in infected cells expressing mCherry Rab5 and EGFP ubiquitin, infected with either L.p. WT or ΔsidE/sdeABC (see Movies S3 and S4). Graphs in F are intensity measurements for each FP tagged protein for these insets. (G) Visual scoring of ubiquitin and Rab5 recruitment patterns across all replicates. R5 is Rab5, Ub is ubiquitin. Percentages are calculated for all pooled data. 164 LCVs were scored in total for L.p. WT, and 175 for L.psidE/sdeABC. (H) Manual approximation of Rab5 association time with either the WT or ΔsidE/sdeABC LCV across three biological replicates. Each point represents a single LCV. LCVs that transition from Rab5 positive to negative are labeled as +to -, whereas LCVs that remain Rab5 positive at the end of the time course are marked as +only. 26 LCVs were scored for L.p. WT, and 24 for L.psidE/sdeABC. (I) Comparison of the timepoints at which the intensity maximum occurs for Rab5 and ubiquitin for each LCV across three biological replicates. 3–9 LCVs were scored per strain per replicate. Welch’s two-sample t-test, p=0.00473.

Figure 7—figure supplement 1
Uncommon LCV-associated ubiquitin morphology patterns observed during live imaging.

Example cases of (A) diffuse ubiquitin localization throughout imaging at WT LCV, (B) compact ubiquitin localization at WT LCV, and (C) highly dynamic compact-to-expansive ubiquitin morphology at the SidE family knockout strain LCV.

Figure 7—video 1
Timelapse imaging of GFP-ubiquitin dynamics at the WT LCV.

Scale bar length corresponds to 10 μm.

Figure 7—video 2
Timelapse imaging of GFP-ubiquitin dynamics at the ΔsidE/sdeABC LCV.

Scale bar length corresponds to 10 μm.

Figure 7—video 3
Timelapse imaging of GFP-ubiquitin and mCherry Rab5A dynamics at the WT LCV.

Scale bar length corresponds to 10 μm.

Figure 7—video 4
Timelapse imaging of GFP-ubiquitin and mCherry Rab5A dynamics at the ΔsidE/sdeABC LCV.

Scale bar length corresponds to 10 μm.

Tables

Appendix 1—key resources table
Reagent type (species) or resourceDesignationSource or referenceIdentifiersAdditional information
Strain, strain background (Legionella pneumophila)Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strain Lp02 rpsL hsdR thyA (‘WT’)Berger and Isberg, 1993
Gift from Dr. Craig Roy
LEG003
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strain Lp02 rpsL hsdR thyA dotA (‘dotA’)Berger and Isberg, 1993
Gift from Dr. Craig Roy
LEG004
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Lp02 ΔsidE ΔsdeC ΔsdeBA (Δlpg0234, Δlpg2153 Δlpg2156-2157), annotated as ‘ΔsidE/sdeABC’ for brevityJeong et al., 2015
Gift from Dr. Ralph Isberg
LEG151/JV6113
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Lp02 ΔsidE/sdeABC pJB1806::SdeBSteinbach et al., 2024LEG171
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Lp02 ΔsidE/sdeABC pJB1806::SdeB EE/AAThis studyLEG196L.p. ΔsidE/sdeABC transformed with plasmid encoded IPTG-inducible SdeB EE/AA (pCM003)
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Lp02 pON::HalotagThis studyLEG195L.p. WT transformed with plasmid encoded constitutively expressed HaloTag7 (pAS100)
Strain, strain background (L. pneumophila)Lp02 ΔsidE/sdeABC pON::HaloTagThis studyLEG160L.p. ΔsidE/sdeABC transformed with plasmid encoded constitutively expressed HaloTag7 (pAS100)
Cell line (Homo sapiens)HEK293T FcgRThis studyDerived from parental HEK39T from ATCC (CRL-3216)
Cell line (H. sapiens)HeLa FcgRGift from Dr. Craig Roy
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)EGFP in pcDNA3.1This studypAS079Transient expression of EGFP in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)EGFP hRabex5 in pcDNA3.1This studypAS061Transient expression of EGFP-Rabex5 in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)EGFP hRabapatin5 in pcDNA3.1This studypAS062Transient expression of EGFP-Rabaptin5 in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Myc-SdeA in pMSCVGift from Dr. Ralph IsbergL. pneumophila effector gene
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Myc-SdeB in pMSCVGift from Dr. Ralph IsbergL. pneumophila effector gene
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Myc-SdeC in pMSCVGift from Dr. Ralph IsbergL. pneumophila effector gene
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Myc-SidE in pMSCVGift from Dr. Ralph IsbergL. pneumophila effector gene
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Myc-LotC in pMSCVGift from Dr. Ralph IsbergL. pneumophila effector gene
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)pcDNA3.1Gift from Dr. Craig RoypSM022
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)3 X Flag hRab5A in pcDNA3.1Steinbach et al., 2024pAS034
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)HA ubiquitin in pRK5Gift from Dr. Kohei ArasakipSM099
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)HA ubiquitin ∆GG in pRK5This studypAS117HA-tagged ubiquitin with C terminal GG truncation for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)DupA in pEGFPc2This studypCM004EGFP- DupA for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)Ubiquitin in pEGFPc1Gift from Dr. Nico Dantuma11928 (Addgene)
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)3 X Flag hRab5A Q79L in pcDNA3.1This studypAS039Flag-Rab5a Q79L for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)3 X Flag hRab5A S34N in pcDNA3.1This studypAS040Flag-Rab5a S34N for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)3 X Flag hRab5A 1–211 in pcDNA3.1Steinbach et al., 2024pAS041Flag-Rab5a 1–211 for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)mCherry hRab5A in pcDNA3.1Steinbach et al., 2024pAS042
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)mCherry Rab5A S34N in pcDNA3.1This studypAS048mCherry-Rab5a S34N for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
Transfected construct (H. sapiens)mCherry Rab5A Q79L in pcDNA3.1This studypAS047mCherry-Rab5a Q79L for transient expression in mammalian cells under CMV promoter
AntibodyRab5A (E6N8S), mouse monoclonalCell Signaling Technology46449, RRID:AB_2799303IF (1:100)
AntibodyFlag (M2), mouse monoclonalSigma AldrichF1804, RRID:AB_262044WB (1:2500), IP (1:50)
AntibodyHA, HRP conjugate, mouse monoclonalThermo Fisher26183-HRP, RRID:AB_2533056WB (1:1000)
AntibodyL. pneumophila, rabbit polyclonalThermo FisherPA1-7227, RRID:AB_559903Opsonization (1:2000)
AntibodyMyc, mouse monoclonalProteintech60003–2-Ig, RRID:AB_2734122WB (1:1000)
AntibodyGFP, mouse monoclonalRoche11814460001, RRID:AB_390913WB (1:1000)
AntibodyUbiquitin (P4D1), mouse monoclonalSanta Cruzsc-8017, RRID:AB_628423WB (1:500)
AntibodyUbiquitin conjugates (FK2)MilliporeST1200, RRID:AB_2043482IF (1:200)
Recombinant DNA reagentSdeB in pJB1806 (plasmid)Steinbach et al., 2024pAS083Transformed into L. pneumophila
Recombinant DNA reagentSdeB EE/AA in pJB1806 (plasmid)This studypCM003Transformed into L. pneumophila
Recombinant DNA reagentHaloTag in pON (plasmid)This studypAS100Transformed into L. pneumophila
Software, algorithmFijiSchindelin et al., 2012https://fiji.sc/
Software, algorithmCellProfilerStirling et al., 2021https://cellprofiler.org/releases
Software, algorithmggplot2https://ggplot2.tidyverse.org/
Software, algorithmdplyrhttps://dplyr.tidyverse.org/
Software, algorithmuserfriendlysciencehttps://rdrr.io/cran/userfriendlyscience/man/userfriendlyscience-package.html
Software, algorithmImageLabBio-Rad
OtherJF646Gift from Dr. Luke LavisFar red HaloTag ligand

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  1. Adriana Steinbach
  2. Chetan Mokkapati
  3. Puspangana Singh
  4. Shaeri Mukherjee
(2026)
Canonical and phosphoribosyl ubiquitination coordinate to stabilize a proteinaceous structure surrounding the Legionella-containing vacuole
eLife 14:RP108254.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.108254.3