Cytolethal distending toxin family members are differentially affected by alterations in host glycans and membrane cholesterol.

ABSTRACT: Cytolethal distending toxins (CDTs) are tripartite protein exotoxins produced by a diverse group of pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. Based on their ability to induce DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis of cultured cells, CDTs are proposed to enhance virulence by blocking cellular division and/or directly killing epithelial and immune cells. Despite the widespread distribution of CDTs among several important human pathogens, our understanding of how these toxins interact with host cells is limited. Here we demonstrate that CDTs from Haemophilus ducreyi, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter jejuni differ in their abilities to intoxicate host cells with defined defects in host factors previously implicated in CDT binding, including glycoprotein

SUBMITTER: Eshraghi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2881744 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature