Observations on the Role of TcdE Isoforms in Clostridium difficile Toxin Secretion.

ABSTRACT:

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Clostridium difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen and the principal causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The toxigenic C. difficile strains that cause disease secrete virulence factors, toxin A and toxin B, that cause colonic injury and inflammation. C. difficile toxins have no export signature and are secreted by an unusual mechanism that involves TcdE, a holin-like protein. We isolated a TcdE mutant of the epidemic R20291 strain with impaired toxin secretion, which was restored by complementation with functional TcdE. In the TcdE open reading frame (ORF), we identified three possible translation start sites; each translated isoform may play a specific role in TcdE-controlled toxin release. We created plasmid constructs that express only one of the thre

SUBMITTER: Govind R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4518823 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature