Identification of a region that assists membrane insertion and translocation of the catalytic domain of Bordetella pertussis CyaA toxin.

ABSTRACT: The adenylate cyclase (CyaA) toxin, one of the virulence factors secreted by Bordetella pertussis, the pathogenic bacteria responsible for whooping cough, plays a critical role in the early stages of respiratory tract colonization by this bacterium. The CyaA toxin is able to invade eukaryotic cells by translocating its N-terminal catalytic domain directly across the plasma membrane of the target cells, where, activated by endogenous calmodulin, it produces supraphysiological levels of cAMP. How the catalytic domain is transferred from the hydrophilic extracellular medium into the hydrophobic environment of the membrane and then to the cell cytoplasm remains an unsolved question. In this report, we have characterized the membrane-interacting properties of the CyaA catalytic domain. We showe

SUBMITTER: Karst JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3308773 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature