Membrane localization of the Repeats-in-Toxin (RTX) Leukotoxin (LtxA) produced by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

ABSTRACT: The oral bacterium, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, which is associated with localized aggressive periodontitis, as well as systemic infections including endocarditis, produces numerous virulence factors, including a repeats-in-toxin (RTX) protein called leukotoxin (LtxA), which kills human immune cells. The strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans most closely associated with disease have been shown to produce the most LtxA, suggesting that LtxA plays a significant role in the virulence of this organism. LtxA, like many of the RTX toxins, can be divided into four functional domains: an N-terminal hydrophobic domain, which contains a significant fraction of hydrophobic residues and has been proposed to play a role in the membrane interaction of the toxin; the central domain, which contai

SUBMITTER: Brown AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6193665 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature