Interactions and substrate selectivity within the SctRST complex of the type III secretion system of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Many bacterial pathogens employ a protein complex, termed the type III secretion system (T3SS), to inject bacterial effectors into host cells. These effectors manipulate various cellular processes to promote bacterial growth and survival. The T3SS complex adopts a nano-syringe shape that is assembled across the bacterial membranes, with an extracellular needle extending toward the host cell membrane. The assembly of the T3SS is initiated by the association of three proteins, known as SctR, SctS, and SctT, which create an entry portal to the translocation channel within the bacterial inner membrane. Using the T3SS of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, we investigated, by mutational and functional analyses, the role of two structural construction sites formed within the SctRST complex and revealed that they are mutation-resistant components that are likely to act as seals preventing leakage of ions and metabolites rather than as substrate gates. In addition, we identified two residues in the SctS protein, Pro23, and Lys54, that are critical for the proper activity of the T3SS. We propose that Pro23 is critical for the physical orientation of the SctS transmembrane domains that create the tip of the SctRST complex and for their positioning with regard to other T3SS substructures. Surprisingly, we found that SctS Lys54, which was previously suggested to mediate the SctS self-oligomerization, is critical for T3SS activity due to its essential role in SctS-SctT hetero-interactions.