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Amyloid Proteins pp 289–312Cite as

Addressing Intracellular Amyloidosis in Bacteria with RepA-WH1, a Prion-Like Protein

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1779))

Abstract

Bacteria are the simplest cellular model in which amyloidosis has been addressed. It is well documented that bacterial consortia (biofilms) assemble their extracellular matrix on an amyloid scaffold, yet very few intracellular amyloids are known in bacteria. Here, we describe the methods we have resorted to characterize in Escherichia coli cells the amyloidogenesis, propagation, and dynamics of the RepA-WH1 prionoid. This prion-like protein, a manifold domain from the plasmid replication protein RepA, itself capable of assembling a functional amyloid, causes when expressed in E. coli a synthetic amyloid proteinopathy, the first model for an amyloid disease with a purely bacterial origin. These protocols are useful to study other intracellular amyloids in bacteria.

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Acknowledgments

Contributions of other past and present members of our laboratory to the development of the techniques relevant to this chapter are deeply acknowledged. We thank Ariel Lindner and his group (CRI, Descartes University/INSERM, Paris) for training F.G.R. and L.M.G. on microfluidics. This research has been supported by a grant from Spanish AEI/EU-FEDER (BIO2015-68730-R).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Laura Molina-García, Fátima Gasset-Rosa, María Moreno-del Álamo, Susana Moreno-Díaz de la Espina & Rafael Giraldo

  2. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK

    Laura Molina-García

  3. Department of Neurosciences, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California in San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Fátima Gasset-Rosa

  4. Department of Microbial Biotechnology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    María Moreno-del Álamo

Authors
  1. Laura Molina-García
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  2. Fátima Gasset-Rosa
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  3. María Moreno-del Álamo
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  4. Susana Moreno-Díaz de la Espina
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  5. Rafael Giraldo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Giraldo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, USA

    Einar M. Sigurdsson

  2. Chronic Disease Programme-CROSADIS CIBERNED, Queen Sofia Foundation, Alzheimer Center CIEN Foundation, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel Calero

  3. Institute of Physical Chemistry “Rocasolano”, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    María Gasset

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Molina-García, L., Gasset-Rosa, F., Álamo, M.Md., de la Espina, S.MD., Giraldo, R. (2018). Addressing Intracellular Amyloidosis in Bacteria with RepA-WH1, a Prion-Like Protein. In: Sigurdsson, E., Calero, M., Gasset, M. (eds) Amyloid Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1779. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7816-8_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7816-8_18

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7815-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7816-8

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