C-terminal domain of CagX is responsible for its interaction with CagT protein of Helicobacter pylori type IV secretion system

Helicobacter pylori are the well known human pathogen associated with gastric cancer and peptic ulcer. Pathogenesis is mainly due to the presence of 40 kb cagPAI (cag Pathogenicity Island) region that encodes the type IV secretion system (TFSS) consisting of a cytoplasmic part, a middle part/core complex (spans from inner membrane to outer membrane), and an outer membrane associated part. CagX and CagT are two important proteins of TFSS that have homology with virB9 and virB7 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens TFSS. In this study, we have shown that the CagX and CagT interact directly by using co-immunoprecipitation of endogenous CagX and CagT and MBP pull down assay. We further authenticate this observation using yeast two-hybrid assay and co-expression of both the protein coding gene in Escherichiacoli. We also observed that the C-terminal region of CagX is important for CagT interaction. We reconfirm that CagT depends on CagX for its stabilization. These observations could contribute in overall visualization of assembly and architecture of TFSS because protein-protein interactions among Cag proteins are likely to have an important role in assembly. Thorough understanding about architecture and mechanism of action of cag-TFSS may lead to design controlled drug delivery system.