A Molecular Mechanism for Bacterial Susceptibility to Zinc

Abstract

Transition row metal ions are both essential and toxic to microorganisms. Zinc in excess has significant toxicity to bacteria, and host release of Zn(II) at mucosal surfaces is an important innate defence mechanism. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Zn(II) affords protection have not been defined. We show that in Streptococcus pneumoniae extracellular Zn(II) inhibits the acquisition of the essential metal Mn(II) by competing for binding to the solute binding protein PsaA. We show that, although Mn(II) is the high-affinity substrate for PsaA, Zn(II) can still bind, albeit with a difference in affinity of nearly two orders of magnitude. Despite the difference in metal ion affinities, high-resolution structures of PsaA in complex with Mn(II) or Zn(II) showed almost no difference. However, Zn(II)-PsaA is significantly more thermally stable than Mn(II)-PsaA, suggesting that Zn(II) binding may be irreversible. In vitro growth analyses show that extracellular Zn(II) is able to inhibit Mn(II) intracellular accumulation with little effect on intracellular Zn(II). The phenotype of S. pneumoniae grown at high Zn(II):Mn(II) ratios, i.e. induced Mn(II) starvation, closely mimicked a ΔpsaA mutant, which is unable to accumulate Mn(II). S. pneumoniae infection in vivo elicits massive elevation of the Zn(II):Mn(II) ratio and, in vitro, these Zn(II):Mn(II) ratios inhibited growth due to Mn(II) starvation, resulting in heightened sensitivity to oxidative stress and polymorphonuclear leucocyte killing. These results demonstrate that microbial susceptibility to Zn(II) toxicity is mediated by extracellular cation competition and that this can be harnessed by the innate immune response. Dietary zinc deficiency is a global health problem affecting almost two billion people. Infectious diseases associated with zinc deficiency include respiratory infections caused by bacteria, and notably, Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is responsible for more than 1 million deaths annually. The association between zinc and immunity is well known, but the mechanism by which zinc provides protection against infectious diseases has remained a mystery. Previously, we found that manganese was essential for S. pneumoniae growth and its ability to cause disease. Intriguingly, we also observed that zinc could bind to the manganese transport protein. Therefore, we sought to determine if zinc could inhibit manganese transport, and to observe what the effects would be on S. pneumoniae. We found that zinc prevented manganese uptake. This slowed bacterial growth and rendered it hypersensitive to immune cell killing. We also observed that, during S. pneumoniae infection in mice, zinc released by the host increased to concentrations that could compete for manganese uptake. Our study provides direct evidence for how zinc is toxic to bacteria by preventing manganese uptake. Furthermore, we show how this could be harnessed by the immune system, thereby providing a scientific basis for the protective effect of zinc against infectious diseases.