# Structural biology of proteostasis in M. tuberculosis

> **NIH NIH R01** · VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $475,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from bacterial infection. During infection, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (Mtb) encounters several types of stress in the host cells, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS),
reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and chemotherapy. These stresses impair protein integrity and result in
protein aggregation. The impaired or aggregated proteins have to be either degraded and recycled or else
resolved and repaired. Protein degradation and recycling in Mtb is mainly carried out by the proteasome
system, while protein rescue (i.e., resolving toxic protein aggregates to a native folded state) is carried out by
the ATP-powered ClpB/DnaK bi-chaperone system. Therefore, the proteasome and the ClpB/DnaK systems
are the yin and yang of cellular proteostasis in Mtb. Interestingly, the proteasome is absent in most bacteria; it
is present only in the order of Actinomycetales and is essential to Mtb's survival inside the host. Genetic
studies have established the Mtb proteasome as an ideal target for the development of anti-TB agents. In
collaboration with chemical biology labs, we propose to study the binding poses of several anti-TB agents that
are metabolically stable and that specifically inhibit the Mtb 20S proteasome core particle while sparing the
human constitutive and immunoproteasome (Aim 1). In the previous funding cycle, we solved the crystal
structures of the ATP-dependent proteasomal activator, the Mpa hexamer, as well as the ATP-independent
proteasomal activator called the PafE dodecamer. We will next investigate how partially unfolded or oxidized
protein substrates are recognized and targeted for degradation by the Mtb proteasome (Aim 2). It is notable the
transcriptional repressor HspR of the Mtb ClpB/DnaK bi-chaperone system is a substrate of the Mtb PafE-
proteasome system; hence, the Mtb proteasome directly regulates the bi-chaperone system. We plan to study
the structure and function of the ATP-driven disaggregation machinery, i.e., the Mtb ClpB hexamer (Aim 3), as
part of the long-term plan to characterize the complete ClpB/DnaK bi-chaperone system. Characterizing the
two opposing systems of protein degradation and protein reactivation lays the groundwork for the development
of a combination approach that simultaneously targets both systems, leading to irreparable disruption of the
microbial proteostasis and synergistic killing of nonreplicating bacteria. Overall, the proposed work will improve
our understanding of the molecular mechanism of protein homeostasis in Mtb, the deadliest bacterial
pathogen.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10164559
- **Project number:** 5R01AI070285-15
- **Recipient organization:** VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Huilin Li
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $475,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-04-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10164559

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10164559, Structural biology of proteostasis in M. tuberculosis (5R01AI070285-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10164559. Licensed CC0.

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