Deciphering the Mechanism and Dynamics of Hemoglobin Capture by Staphylococcus aureus Cell-surface Protein, IsdH, by Native MS

摘要

Bacteria need iron from the host to establish infection. Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of bacterial infection in the US, and its pathological mechanism has not been fully elucidated. It has been postulated that a receptor on the surface of S. aureus, IsdH, is involved in the capture of heme from hemoglobin (Hb) and that this is the source of iron required for infection. We employed native ESI'MS and MS/MS to study the dynamics of noncovalent interactions between Hb and the IsdH protein receptor. The complex processes of site'specific protein recognition and heme transfer, including the kinetics of multiple binding equilibria, can be monitored exclusively by ESI'MS to provide important clues to the mechanism of S. aureus infection.