Structural characterization of the cell wall binding domains of Clostridium difficile toxins A and B; evidence that Ca2+ plays a role in toxin A cell surface association.
J Mol Biol
; 346(5): 1197-206, 2005 Mar 11.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-15713474
ABSTRACT
Clostridium difficile (C.difficile) is a nosocomially acquired intestinal bacillus which can cause chronic diarrhea and life-threatening colitis. The pathogenic effects of the bacillus are mediated by the release of two toxins, A and B. The C-terminal portions of both toxins are composed of 20 and 30 residue repeats known as cell wall binding (CWB) domains. We have cloned and expressed the CWB-domains of toxins A and B and several truncated CWB-domain constructs to investigate their structure and function. The smallest CWB-domain that folded in a cooperative manner was an 11 repeat construct of toxin A. This differentiates the C-terminal domains of toxins A and B from the CWB-domain of Streptococcus pneumoniae LytA, which only requires six repeats to fold. The 11 repeat toxin A construct bound Ca2+ directly with millimolar affinity and interacted with mammalian cell surfaces in a concentration and Ca2+-dependent fashion. Millimolar Ca2+ levels also accelerated toxin mediated CHO cell killing in an in vitro cell assay. Together, the data suggest a role for extracellular Ca2+ in the sensitization of toxin A/cell-surface interactions.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Proteínas de Bactérias
/
Toxinas Bacterianas
/
Parede Celular
/
Cálcio
/
Clostridioides difficile
/
Enterotoxinas
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2005
Tipo de documento:
Article