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Aegerolysins are proteins produced by bacteria, fungi, plants and protozoa. The most studied fungal aegerolysins share a common property of interacting with membranes enriched with cholesterol in combination with either sphingomyelin or ceramide phosphorylethanolamine (CPE), major sphingolipids in the cell membranes of vertebrates and invertebrates, respectively. However, genome analyses show a particularly high frequency of aegerolysin genes in bacteria, including the pathogenic genera Pseudomonas and Vibrio; these are human pathogens of high clinical relevance and can thrive in a variety of other species. The knowledge on bacterial aegerolysin-lipid interactions is scarce. We show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa aegerolysin RahU interacts with CPE, but not with sphingomyelin-enriched artificial membranes, and that RahU interacts with the insect cell line producing CPE. We report crystal structures of RahU alone and in complex with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris), which, like the phosphorylethanolamine head group of CPE, contains a primary amine. The RahU structures reveal that the two loops proximal to the amino terminus form a cavity that accommodates Tris, and that the flexibility of these two loops is important for this interaction. We show that Tris interferes with CPE-enriched membranes for binding to RahU, implying on the importance of the ligand cavity between the loops and its proximity in RahU membrane interaction. We further support this by studying the interaction of single amino acid substitution mutants of RahU with the CPE-enriched membranes. Our results thus represent a starting point for a better understanding of the role of P. aeruginosa RahU, and possibly other bacterial aegerolysins, in bacterial interactions with other organisms.

Aegerolysins ostreolysin A (OlyA) and pleurotolysin A (PlyA), and pleurotolysin B (PlyB) with the membrane-attack-complex/perforin domain are proteins from the mushroom genus Pleurotus. Upon binding to sphingomyelin/cholesterol-enriched membranes, OlyA and PlyA can recruit PlyB to form multimeric bi-component transmembrane pores. Recently, Pleurotus aegerolysins OlyA, PlyA2 and erylysin A (EryA) were demonstrated to preferentially bind to artificial lipid membranes containing 50 mol% ceramide phosphoethanolamine (CPE), the main sphingolipid in invertebrate cell membranes. In this study, we demonstrate that OlyA6, PlyA2 and EryA bind to insect cells and to artificial lipid membranes with physiologically relevant CPE concentrations. Moreover, these aegerolysins permeabilize these membranes when combined with PlyB. These aegerolysin/PlyB complexes show selective toxicity toward western corn rootworm larvae and adults and Colorado potato beetle larvae. These data strongly suggest that these aegerolysin/PlyB complexes recognize CPE as their receptor molecule in the insect midgut. This mode of binding is different from those described for similar aegerolysin-based bacterial complexes, or other Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins, which have protein receptors. Targeting of Pleurotus aegerolysins to CPE and formation of transmembrane pores in concert with PlyB suggest the use of aegerolysin/PlyB complexes as novel biopesticides for the control of western corn rootworm and Colorado potato beetle.

Ostreolysin A (OlyA) is a 15-kDa protein that binds selectively to cholesterol/sphingomyelin membrane nanodomains. This binding induces the production of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that comprise both microvesicles with diameters between 100nm and 1μm, and larger vesicles of around 10-μm diameter in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. In this study, we show that vesiculation of these cells by the fluorescent fusion protein OlyA-mCherry is not affected by temperature, is not mediated via intracellular Ca2+ signalling, and does not compromise cell viability and ultrastructure. Seventy-one proteins that are mostly of cytosolic and nuclear origin were detected in these shed EVs using mass spectroscopy. In the cells and EVs, 218 and 84 lipid species were identified, respectively, and the EVs were significantly enriched in lysophosphatidylcholines and cholesterol. Our collected data suggest that OlyA-mCherry binding to cholesterol/sphingomyelin membrane nanodomains induces specific lipid sorting into discrete patches, which promotes plasmalemmal blebbing and EV shedding from the cells. We hypothesize that these effects are accounted for by changes of local membrane curvature upon the OlyA-mCherry-plasmalemma interaction. We suggest that the shed EVs are a potentially interesting model for biophysical and biochemical studies of cell membranes, and larger vesicles could represent tools for non-invasive sampling of cytosolic proteins from cells and thus metabolic fingerprinting.

Ceramide phosphoethanolamine (CPE) is the major sphingolipid in invertebrates and in some bacterial species. It has been also detected in mammalian cells, although only in trace amounts. Complete understanding of the biophysical and physiological relevance of CPE is still lacking, and its biological role is still an open question. CPE differs in its biosynthetic mechanisms from sphingomyelin, due to the specific CPE synthase in invertebrates. In contrast to well-established sphingomyelin/cholesterol interactions that result in the formation of ordered membrane domains, the formation of ordered CPE/cholesterol domains is not favored. CPE might be crucial for the early development of Drosophila melanogaster, and it might be involved in the developmental stages of Trypanosoma brucei. As a Bacteroidetes-associated sphingolipid, CPE might also be involved in maintenance of these bacteria in their ecological niches. Therefore, efficient detection of CPE in biological systems is needed to better define its distribution and biological role(s).

Ostreolysin A/pleurotolysin B (OlyA/PlyB) is a binary pore-forming protein complex that produces a rapid cardiorespiratory arrest. Increased tonus of the coronary vascular wall produced by OlyA/PlyB may lead to ischemia, arrhythmias, the hypoxic injury of cardiomyocytes and cardiotoxicity. We evaluated the effects of OlyA/PlyB in cultured vascular smooth muscle A10 cells. Fluorometric measurements using the Ca(2+) indicator Fluo-4 AM and Fura-2 AM revealed that nanomolar concentrations of OlyA/PlyB increased the intracellular Ca(2+) activity [Ca(2+)]i in A10 cells. This effect was absent in a Ca(2+)-free medium, indicating that OlyA/PlyB-induced [Ca(2+)]i increase was dependent on Ca(2+) influx into cells. The increase in [Ca(2+)]i by OlyA/PlyB was partially prevented by: i) the calcium channel blockers verapamil and La(3+), ii) the inhibitor of the sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) benzamil, and iii) the iso-osmotic replacement of NaCl by sucrose. The pre-treatment of cells with the Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin reduced the [Ca(2+)]i increase evoked by OlyA/PlyB, whereas the plasma membrane depolarization with high K(+) in the medium did not prevent OlyA/PlyB-induced [Ca(2+)]i. In summary, our data could suggest that the OlyA/PlyB-induced increase in [Ca(2+)]i is due to an influx of Ca(2+) through a variety of co-existing plasma membrane Ca(2+)-permeable channels, Ca(2+) entry through non-selective ion permeable pores formed de novo by OlyA/PlyB in the plasma membrane and calcium-induced intracellular Ca(2+) release, altogether leading to disturbed Ca(2+) homeostasis in A10 cells.

An asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) technique coupled to a multiangle light scattering (MALS) detector with an embedded dynamic light scattering (DLS) module was introduced to study the size characteristics and shape of soft particles of various size and type: polystyrene nanosphere size standards, lipid droplets (LDs), and large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). A range of flow velocities through the LS detector, at which accurate hydrodynamic size can be extracted from the DLS in flow mode, was studied since the particles subjected to a longitudinal flow exhibit not only the Brownian motion due to diffusion but also the translational movement. In addition, the impact of the longitudinal flow velocity on the shape of the artificial LUV of two different sizes and two different compositions was studied by MALS. For comparison, the conventional batch DLS and static light scattering (SLS) experiments without prior sample separation by size were performed. From a combination of batch and flow light scattering results, we concluded that the passage flow velocities at the detector used in this study, 0.2, 0.5, and 1 mL/min, have no significant impact on the shape of spherical vesicles; however, the flow DLS experiments give accurate hydrodynamic radius (R

Ethanolic extracts of mycelia from Aspergillus niger (strain N402) grown in liquid media were observed to have haemolytic activity on bovine erythrocytes. This haemolytic activity decreased significantly during the time of growth (1–3 days). Moreover, when A. niger was grown on carbon-deprived medium, the efficiency of this haemolytic activity in the ethanolic extracts was much lower than when grown in carbon-enriched medium, and became almost undetectable after 3 days of growth in carbon-deprived medium. The lipid composition of these ethanolic extracts was analysed by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. This haemolytic activity can be mainly linked to the relative levels of the molar ratios of the unsaturated fatty acids and lysophosphatidylcholines.

The mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus has been reported to produce the hemolytic proteins ostreolysin (OlyA), pleurotolysin A (PlyA) and pleurotolysin B (PlyB). The present study of the native and recombinant proteins dissects out their lipid-binding characteristics and their roles in lipid binding and membrane permeabilization. Using lipid-binding studies, permeabilization of erythrocytes, large unilamellar vesicles of various lipid compositions, and electron microscopy, we show that OlyA, a PlyA homolog, preferentially binds to membranes rich in sterol and sphingomyelin, but it does not permeabilize them. The N-terminally truncated Δ48PlyB corresponds to the mature and active form of native PlyB, and it has a membrane attack complex-perforin (MACPF) domain. Δ48PlyB spontaneously oligomerizes in solution, and binds weakly to various lipid membranes but is not able to perforate them. However, binding of Δ48PlyB to the cholesterol and sphingomyelin membranes, and consequently, their permeabilization is dramatically promoted in the presence of OlyA. On these membranes, Δ48PlyB and OlyA form predominantly 13-meric oligomers. These are rosette-like structures with a thickness of ∼9 nm from the membrane surface, with 19.7 nm and 4.9 nm outer and inner diameters, respectively. When present on opposing vesicle membranes, these oligomers can dimerize and thus promote aggregation of vesicles. Based on the structural and functional characteristics of Δ48PlyB, we suggest that it shares some features with MACPF/cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC) proteins. OlyA is obligatory for the Δ48PlyB permeabilization of membranes rich in cholesterol and sphingomyelin.

Proteins of the aegerolysin family span many kingdoms of life. They are relatively widely distributed in bacteria and fungi, but also appear in plants, protozoa and insects. Despite being produced in abundance in cells at specific developmental stages and present in secretomes, only a few aegerolysins have been studied in detail. In particular, their organism-specific physiological roles are intriguing. Here, we review published findings to date on the distribution, molecular interactions and biological activities of this family of structurally and functionally versatile proteins, the aegerolysins.

The periodontopathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans synthesizes several virulence factors, including cytolethal distending toxin (CDT). The active CDT holoenzyme is an AB-type tripartite genotoxin that affects eukaryotic cells. Subunits CdtA and CdtC (B-components) allow binding and intracellular translocation of the active CdtB (A-component), which elicits nuclear DNA damage. Different strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans have diverse virulence genotypes, which results in varied pathogenic potential and disease progression. Here, we identified an A. actinomycetemcomitans strain isolated from two patients with advance chronic periodontitis that has a regular cdtABC operon, which, however, codes for a unique, shorter, variant of the CdtB subunit. We describe the characteristics of this CdtBΔ116–188, which lacks the intact nuclear localisation signal and the catalytic histidine 160. We show that the A. actinomycetemcomitans DO15 isolate secretes CdtBΔ116–188, and that this subunit cannot form a holotoxin and is also not genotoxic if expressed ectopically in HeLa cells. Furthermore, the A. actinomycetemcomitans DO15 isolate is not toxic, nor does it induce cellular distention upon infection of co-cultivated HeLa cells. Biological significance of this deletion in the cdtB remains to be explained.

Although sphingomyelin is an important cellular lipid, its subcellular distribution is not precisely known. Here we use a sea anemone cytolysin, equinatoxin II (EqtII), which specifically binds sphingomyelin, as a new marker to detect cellular sphingomyelin. A purified fusion protein composed of EqtII and green fluorescent protein (EqtII-GFP) binds to the SM rich apical membrane of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) II cells when added exogenously, but not to the SM-free basolateral membrane. When expressed intracellularly within MDCK II cells, EqtII-GFP colocalizes with markers for Golgi apparatus and not with those for nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum or plasma membrane. Colocalization with the Golgi apparatus was confirmed by also using NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Moreover, EqtII-GFP was enriched in cis-Golgi compartments isolated by gradient ultracentrifugation. The data reveal that EqtII-GFP is a sensitive probe for membrane sphingomyelin, which provides new information on cytosolic exposure, essential to understand its diverse physiological roles.

Disulfide pairings and active site residues are highly conserved in secretory phospholipases A2 (PLA2s). However, secretory PLA2s of marine invertebrates display some distinctive structural features. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a PLA2 from the northern Pacific sea anemone, Urticina crassicornis (UcPLA2), containing a C27N substitution and a truncated C-terminal sequence. This novel cnidarian PLA2 shares about 60% identity and almost 70% homology with two putative PLA2s identified in the starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) genome project. UcPLA2 lacks hemolytic and neurotoxic activities. A search of available sequences revealed that Asn27-‘type’ PLA2s are present in a few other marine animal species, including some vertebrates. The possibility that the C27N replacement represents a structural adaptation for PLA2 digestion/activity in the marine environment was not supported by experiments testing the influence of ionic strength on UcPLA2 enzymatic activity. Because of the highly divergent sequences among invertebrate group I PLA2s, it is currently not possible to identify orthologous relationships. As the Asn27-containing PLA2s are scattered among the other invertebrate group I PLA2s, they do not constitute a new, monophyletic PLA2 clade.

Sphingomyelin (SM) is abundant in the outer leaflet of the cell plasma membrane, with the ability to concentrate in so-called lipid rafts. These specialized cholesterol-rich microdomains not only are associated with many physiological processes but also are exploited as cell entry points by pathogens and protein toxins. SM binding is thus a widespread and important biochemical function, and here we reveal the molecular basis of SM recognition by the membrane-binding eukaryotic cytolysin equinatoxin II (EqtII). The presence of SM in membranes drastically improves the binding and permeabilizing activity of EqtII. Direct binding assays showed that EqtII specifically binds SM, but not other lipids and, curiously, not even phosphatidylcholine, which presents the same phosphorylcholine headgroup. Analysis of the EqtII interfacial binding site predicts that electrostatic interactions do not play an important role in the membrane interaction and that the two most important residues for sphingomyelin recognition are Trp112 and Tyr113 exposed on a large loop. Experiments using site-directed mutagenesis, surface plasmon resonance, lipid monolayer, and liposome permeabilization assays clearly showed that the discrimination between sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine occurs in the region directly below the phosphorylcholine headgroup. Because the characteristic features of SM chemistry lie in this sub-interfacial region, the recognition mechanism may be generic for all SM-specific proteins. © 2008 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Ostreolysin, a 15kDa pore-forming protein from the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), binds specifically to cholesterol-enriched membrane domains existing in the liquid-ordered phase, and lyses cells and lipid vesicles made of cholesterol and sphingomyelin. We have monitored binding of sub-lytic concentrations of ostreolysin to membranes of Chinese Hamster Ovary cells and rat somatotrophs, using primary anti-ostreolysin and fluorescence-labeled secondary antibodies detected by confocal microscopy. Depletion of more than 40% membrane cholesterol content by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin dramatically decreased ostreolysin binding. Immunostaining showed that ostreolysin is not co-localized with raft-binding proteins, cholera toxin B-subunit or caveolin, suggesting that natural membranes display heterogeneity of cholesterol-enriched raft-like microdomains. Impaired ostreolysin binding was also observed after treating the cells with lysophosphatidylinositol. Effects of lysophosphatidylinositol on binding of ostreolysin to immobilized large sphingomyelin/cholesterol (1/1, mol/mol) unilamellar vesicles were studied by a surface plasmon resonance technique. Injection of ostreolysin during the lysophosphatidylinositol dissociation phase showed an inverse relationship between ostreolysin binding and the quantity of lysophosphatidylinositol in the membranes of lipid vesicles. It was concluded that lysophospholipids prevent binding of ostreolysin to cell and to artificial lipid membranes resembling lipid rafts, by partitioning into the lipid bilayer and altering the properties of cholesterol-rich microdomains.

The kinetics of cholesterol extraction from cellular membranes is complex and not yet completely understood. In this paper we have developed an experimental approach to directly monitor the extraction of cholesterol from lipid membranes by using surface plasmon resonance and model lipid systems. Methyl-β-cyclodextrin was used to selectively remove cholesterol from large unilamellar vesicles of various compositions. The amount of extracted cholesterol is highly dependent on the composition of lipid membrane, i.e. the presence of sphingomyelin drastically reduced and slowed down cholesterol extraction by methyl-β-cyclodextrin. This was confirmed also in the erythrocyte ghosts system, where more cholesterol was extracted after erythrocytes were treated with sphingomyelinase. We further show that the kinetics of the extraction is mono-exponential for mixtures of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and cholesterol. The kinetics is complex for ternary lipid mixtures composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, bovine brain sphingomyelin and cholesterol. Our results indicate that the complex kinetics observed in experiments with cells may be the consequence of lateral segregation of lipids in cell plasma membrane.

Aspergillus fumigatus, a pathogenic mould causing a wide range of diseases including aspergillosis, produces a series of toxic substances which appear to act in an additive and/or synergic way on cells. Aspergillosis generally occurs in immunocompromised hosts or is associated with organ transplantation. From the muscul skeleton system the vertebrae, ribs and orbit are the most commonly affected, while the joints are less frequent targets. The cytolytic protein Asp-hemolysin is one of the toxins produced by Aspergillus fumigatus during infection. It belongs to the aegerolysin protein family and shares 43% identity in amino acid sequence with ostreolysin, a cytolysin from the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus. In this work, ostreolysin was used in an experimental model to study the in vitro effects of aegerolysin-like proteins on human chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Immunostaining analyses showed selective binding and clustering of the protein on chondrocyte membranes, pointing to its association with distinctive membrane microdomains. Consequently, ostreolysin can induce effective permeabilization of both chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Based on sequence similarities of ostreolysin and Asp-hemolysin, their comparable cytolytic effects towards different cells, and similar signs of intoxication in experimental animals, our results indicate that Asp-hemolysin might be considered as a possible virulence factor of Aspergillus fumigatus during the infection of bone and cartilage.

Actinoporins (APs) from sea anemones are ~ 20 kDa pore forming toxins with a ?-sandwich structure flanked by two ?-helices. The molecular mechanism of APs pore formation is composed of several well-defined steps. APs bind to membrane by interfacial binding site composed of several aromatic amino acid residues that allow binding to phosphatidylcholine and specific recognition of sphingomyelin. Subsequently, the N-terminal ?-helix from the ?-sandwich has to be inserted into the lipid/water interphase in order to form a functional pore. Functional studies and single molecule imaging revealed that only several monomers, 3-4, oligomerise to form a functional pore. In this model the ?-helices and surrounding lipid molecules build toroidal pore. In agreement, AP pores are transient and electrically heterogeneous. On the contrary, crystallized oligomers of actinoporin fragaceatoxin C were found to be composed of eight monomers with no lipids present between the adjacent ?-helices. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pore-Forming Toxins edited by Maur Dalla Serra and Franco Gambale.

Asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation technique coupled to a multi-angle light-scattering detector (AF4-MALS) was used together with dynamic light-scattering (DLS) in batch mode and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the size characteristics of the trioleoylglycerol lipid droplets covered by a monolayer of sphingomyelin and cholesterol, in water phase. These lipid droplet nanoemulsions (LD) were formed by ultrasonication. In parallel, the size characteristics of large unilamellar lipid vesicles (LUV) prepared by extrusion and composed of sphingomyelin and cholesterol were determined. LD and LUV were prepared at two different molar ratios (1/1, 4/1) of sphingomyelin and cholesterol. In AF4-MALS, various cross-flow conditions and mobile phase compositions were tested to optimize the separation of LD or LUV particles. The particle radii, R, as well as the root-mean-square radii, Rrms, of LD and LUV were determined by AF4-MALS, whereas the hydrodynamic radii, Rh, were obtained by DLS. TEM visualization revealed round shape particles of LD and LUV.

Equinatoxin II is a cytolytic protein isolated from the sea anemone Actinia equina. It is a member of the actinoporins, a family of eukaryotic pore-forming toxins with a unique mechanism of pore formation. Equinatoxin II is a 20 kDa cysteineless protein, with sphingomyelin-dependent activity. Recent studies showed that the N-terminal region of the molecule requires conformational flexibility during pore formation. An understanding of the N-terminal position in the final pore and its role in membrane insertion and pore stability is essential to define the precise molecular mechanism of pore formation. The formation of pores and their electrophysiologic characteristics were studied with planar lipid membranes. We show that amino acids at positions 1 and 3 of equinatoxin II are exposed to the lumen of the pore. Moreover, sulfhydryl reagents and a hexa-histidine tag attached to the N-terminus revealed that the N-terminus of the toxin extends through the pore to the other (trans) side of the membrane and that negatively charged residues inside the pore are crucial to define the electrophysiologic characteristics of the channel. Finally, we detected a new, less stable, state with a lower conductance by using a deletion mutant in which the first five N-terminal amino acids were removed. We propose that the first five amino acids help to anchor the amphipathic helix on the trans side of the membrane and consequently stabilize the final transmembrane pore.

Ostreolysin, a cytolytic protein from the edible oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), recognizes and binds specifically to membrane domains enriched in cholesterol and sphingomyelin (or saturated phosphatidylcholine). These events, leading to permeabilization of the membrane, suggest that a cholesterol-rich liquid-ordered membrane phase, which is characteristic of lipid rafts, could be its possible binding site. In this work, we present effects of ostreolysin on membranes containing various steroids. Binding and membrane permeabilizing activity of ostreolysin was studied using lipid mono- and bilayers composed of sphingomyelin combined, in a 1/1 molar ratio, with natural and synthetic steroids (cholesterol, ergosterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, lanosterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, cholesteryl acetate, and 5-cholesten-3-one). Binding to membranes and lytic activity of the protein are both shown to be dependent on the intact sterol 3β-OH group, and are decreased by introducing additional double bonds and methylation of the steroid skeleton or C17-isooctyl chain. The activity of ostreolysin mainly correlates with the ability of the steroids to promote formation of liquid-ordered membrane domains, and is the highest with cholesterol-containing membranes. Furthermore, increasing the cholesterol concentration enhanced ostreolysin binding in a highly cooperative manner, suggesting that the membrane lateral distribution and accessibility of the sterols are crucial for the activity of this new member of cholesterol-dependent cytolysins.

Ostreolysin (Oly), an acidic, 15 kDa protein from the edible oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), is a toxic, pore-forming cytolysin. In this paper, its toxic properties have been studied in rodents and the LD(50) in mice shown to be 1170 microg/kg. Electrocardiogram, arterial blood pressure and respiratory activity were recorded under general anaesthesia, in intact, pharmacologically vagotomised and artificially respirated rats injected with one mouse LD(50). A few seconds after intravenous Oly injection, a transient increase in arterial blood pressure was recorded, followed by a progressive fall to mid-circulatory pressure accompanied by bradicardia, myocardial ischaemia and ventricular extrasystoles. Similar changes produced by Oly were observed in vagotomised and artificially respirated animals, indicating that vagotomy and hypoxia play no primary role in toxicity. Oly induced lysis of rat erythrocytes in vitro, and probably also in vivo as indicated by the increase in serum potassium. Although direct action of the protein on the cardiomyocytes or heart circulation cannot be excluded, the hyperkalaemia resulting from the haemolytic activity probably plays an important role in its toxicity. The lethality and cardiorespiratory toxic action of Oly are thus shown to be candidates for the cause of the recorded adverse effects of oyster mushroom.

Actinoporins are potent eukaryotic pore-forming toxins specific for sphingomyelin-containing membranes. They are structurally similar to members of the fungal fruit-body lectin family that bind cell-surface exposed Thomsen–Friedenreich antigen. In the present study we found a number of sequences in public databases with similarity to actinoporins. They originate from three animal and two plant phyla and can be classified in three families according to phylogenetic analysis. The sequence similarity is confined to a region from the C-terminal half of the actinoporin molecule and comprises the membrane binding site with a highly conserved P-[WYF]-D pattern. A member of this novel actinoporin-like protein family from zebrafish was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. It displays membrane-binding behaviour but does not have permeabilizing activity or sphingomyelin specificity, two properties typical of actinoporins. We propose that the three families of actinoporin-like proteins and the fungal fruit-body lectin family comprise a novel superfamily of membrane binding proteins, tentatively called AF domains (abbreviated from actinoporin-like proteins and fungal fruit-body lectins).

The L1 chip is used intensively for protein-membrane interaction studies in Biacore surface plasmon resonance systems. The exact form of captured lipid membranes on the chip is, however, not precisely known. Evidence exists that the vesicles both remain intact after the binding to the chip and fuse to form a large single-bilayer membrane. In this study, we were able to bind up to approximately 11,500 resonance units of zwitterionic liposomes (100 nm in diameter) at a low flow rate. We show by fluorescence microscopy that the entire surface of the flow cell is covered homogeneously by liposomes. Negatively charged vesicles (i.e., those composed of phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylglycerol [1:1]) always deposited less densely, but we were able to increase the density slightly with the use of calcium chloride that promotes fusion of the vesicles. Finally, we used zwitterionic liposomes loaded with fluorescent probe calcein to show that they remain intact after the capture on the L1 chip. The fluorescence was lost only after we used equinatoxin, a well-studied pore-forming toxin, to perform on-chip permeabilization of vesicles. The characteristics of permeabilization process for chip-immobilized liposomes are similar to those of liposomes free in solution. All results collectively suggest that liposomes do not fuse to form a single bilayer on the surface of the chip.

Protein aggregation is central to most neurodegenerative diseases, as shown by familial case studies and by animal models. A modified 'amyloid cascade' hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease states that prefibrillar oligomers, also called amyloid-beta-derived diffusible ligands or globular oligomers, are the responsible toxic agent. It has been proposed that these oligomeric species, as shown for amyloid-beta, beta2-microglobulin or prion fragments, exert toxicity by forming pores in membranes, initiating a cascade of detrimental events for the cell. Interaction of granular aggregates and globular oligomers of an amyloidogenic protein, human stefin B, with model lipid membranes and monolayers was studied. Prefibrillar oligomers/aggregates of stefin B are shown to cause concentration-dependent membrane leaking, in contrast to the homologous stefin A. Prefibrillar oligomers/aggregates of stefin B also increase the surface pressure at an air-water interface, i.e. they have amphipathic character and are surface seeking. In addition, they show stronger interaction with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] monolayers than native stefin A or nonaggregated stefin B. Prefibrillar aggregates interact predominantly with acidic phospholipids, such as dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol or dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine, as shown by calcein release experiments and surface plasmon resonance. The same preparations are toxic to neuroblastoma cells, as determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay, again in contrast to the homologue stefin A, which does not aggregate under any of the conditions studied. This study is aimed to contribute to the general model of cellular toxicity induced by prefibrillar oligomers of amyloidogenic proteins, not necessarily involved in pathology.

Sea anemones produce a family of 18-20 kDa proteins, the actinoporins, which lyse cells by forming pores in cell membranes. Sphingomyelin plays an important role in their lytic activity, with membranes lacking this lipid being largely refractory to these toxins. As a means of characterising membrane binding by the actinoporin equinatoxin II (EqTII), we have used 19F NMR to probe the environment of Trp residues in the presence of micelles and bicelles. Trp was chosen as previous data from mutational studies and truncated analogues had identified the N-terminal helix of EqTII and the surface aromatic cluster including tryptophan residues 112 and 116 as being important for membrane interactions. The five tryptophan residues were replaced with 5-fluorotryptophan and assigned by site-directed mutagenesis. The 19F resonance of W112 was most affected in the presence of phospholipid micelles or bicelles, followed by W116, with further change induced by the addition of sphingomyelin. Although binding to phosphatidylcholine is not sufficient to enable pore formation in bilayer membranes, this interaction had a greater effect on the tryptophan residues in our studies than the subsequent interaction with sphingomyelin. Furthermore, sphingomyelin had a direct effect on EqTII in both model membranes, so its role in EqTII pore formation involves more than simply an indirect effect mediated via bulk lipid properties. The lack of change in chemical shift for W149 even in the presence of sphingomyelin indicates that, at least in the model membranes studied here, interaction with sphingomyelin was not sufficient to trigger dissociation of the N-terminal helix from the beta-sandwich, which forms the bulk of the protein.

Actinoporins are eukaryotic pore-forming proteins that create 2-nm pores in natural and model lipid membranes by the self-association of four monomers. The regions that undergo conformational change and form part of the transmembrane pore are currently being defined. It was shown recently that the N-terminal region (residues 10-28) of equinatoxin, an actinoporin from Actinia equina, participates in building of the final pore wall. Assuming that the pore is formed solely by a polypeptide chain, other parts of the toxin should constitute the conductive channel and here we searched for these regions by disulfide scanning mutagenesis. Only double cysteine mutants where the N-terminal segment 1-30 was attached to the beta-sandwich exhibited reduced hemolytic activity upon disulfide formation, showing that other parts of equinatoxin, particularly the beta-sandwich and importantly the C-terminal alpha-helix, do not undergo large conformational rearrangements during the pore formation. The role of the beta-sandwich stability was independently assessed via destabilization of a part of its hydrophobic core by mutations of the buried Trp117. These mutants were considerably less stable than the wild-type but exhibited similar or slightly lower permeabilizing activity. Collectively these results show that a flexible N-terminal region and stable beta-sandwich are pre-requisite for proper pore formation by the actinoporin family.

Equinatoxin II is a representative of actinoporins, eukaryotic pore-forming toxins from sea anemones. It creates pores in natural and artificial lipid membranes by an association of three or four monomers. Cysteine-scanning mutagenesis was used to study the structure of the N terminus, which is proposed to be crucial in transmembrane pore formation. We provide data for two steps of pore formation: a lipid-bound monomeric intermediate state and a final oligomeric pore. Results show that residues 10–28 are organized as an α-helix in both steps. In the first step, the whole region is transferred to a lipid-water interface, laying flat on the membrane. In the pore-forming state, the hydrophilic side of the amphipathic helix lines the pore lumen. The pore has a restriction around Asp-10, according to the permeabilization ratio of ions flowing through pores formed by chemically modified mutants. A general model was introduced to derive the tilt angle of the helix from the ion current data. This study reveals that actinoporins use a unique single helix insertion mechanism for pore formation.

Novel hemolytic proteins, ostreolysin and aegerolysin, were purified from the fruiting bodies of the edible mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus and Agrocybe aegerita. Both ostreolysin and aegerolysin have a molecular weight of about 16 kDa, have low isoelectric points of 5.0 and 4.85, are thermolabile, and hemolytic to bovine erythrocytes at nanomolar concentrations. Their activity is impaired by micromolar Hg2+ but not by membrane lipids and serum low-density lipoproteins (LDL). The sequence of respectively 50 and 10 N-terminal amino acid residues of ostreolysin and aegerolysin has been determined and found to be highly identical with a cDNA-derived amino acid sequence of putative Aa-Pri1 protein from the mushroom A. aegerita, Asp-hemolysin from Aspergillus fumigatus, and two bacterial hemolysin-like proteins expressed during sporulation. We found that ostreolysin is expressed during formation of primordia and fruiting bodies, which is in accord with previous finding that the Aa-Pri1 gene is specifically expressed during fruiting initiation. It is suggestive that the isolated hemolysins play an important role in initial phase of fungal fruiting.

More than 32 species of sea anemones have been reported to produce lethal cytolytic peptides and proteins. Based on their primary structure and functional properties, cytolysins have been classified into four polypeptide groups. Group I consists of 5–8 kDa peptides, represented by those from the sea anemones Tealia felina and Radianthus macrodactylus . These peptides form pores in phosphatidylcholine containing membranes. The most numerous is group II comprising 20 kDa basic proteins, actinoporins, isolated from several genera of the fam. Actiniidae and Stichodactylidae. Equinatoxins, sticholysins, and magnificalysins from Actinia equina , Stichodactyla helianthus , and Heteractis magnifica , respectively, have been studied mostly. They associate typically with sphingomyelin containing membranes and create cation-selective pores. The crystal structure of equinatoxin II has been determined at 1.9 A resolution. Lethal 30–40 kDa cytolytic phospholipases A 2 from Aiptasia pallida (fam. Aiptasiidae) and a similar cytolysin, which is devoid of enzymatic activity, from Urticina piscivora , form group III. A thiol-activated cytolysin, metridiolysin, with a mass of 80 kDa from Metridium senile (fam. Metridiidae) is a single representative of the fourth family. Its activity is inhibited by cholesterol or phosphatides. Biological, structure–function, and pharmacological characteristics of these cytolysins are reviewed.

The aegerolysin protein family (from aegerolysin of the mushroom Agrocybe aegerita) comprises proteins of ∼15–20 kDa from various eukaryotic and bacterial taxa. Aegerolysins are inconsistently distributed among fungal species, and variable numbers of homologs have been reported for species within the same genus. As such noncore proteins, without a member of a protein family in each of the sequenced fungi, they can give insight into different species-specific processes. Some aegerolysins have been reported to be hemolytically active against mammalian erythrocytes. However, some function as bi-component proteins that have membrane activity in concert with another protein that contains a membrane attack complex/perforin domain. The function of most of aegerolysins is unknown, although some have been suggested to have a role in development of the organism. Potential biotechnological applications of aegerolysins are already evident, despite the limited scientific knowledge available at present. Some mushroom aegerolysins, for example, can be used as markers to detect and label specific membrane lipids. Others can be used as biomarkers of fungal exposure, where their genes can serve as targets for detection of fungi and their progression during infectious diseases. Antibodies against aegerolysins can also be raised as immuno-diagnostic tools. Aegerolysins have been shown to serve as a species determination tool for fungal phytopathogen isolates in terms of some closely related species, where commonly used internal transcribed spacer barcoding has failed. Moreover, strong promoters that regulate aegerolysin genes can promote secretion of heterologous proteins from fungi and have been successfully applied in simultaneous multi-gene expression techniques.

Proteins with membrane-attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domains are found in almost all kingdoms of life, and they have a variety of biological roles, including defence and attack, organism development, and cell adhesion and signalling. The distribution of these proteins in fungi appears to be restricted to some Pezizomycotina and Basidiomycota species only, in correlation with another group of proteins with unknown biological function, known as aegerolysins. These two protein groups coincide in only a few species, and they might operate in concert as cytolytic bi-component pore-forming agents. Representative proteins here include pleurotolysin B, which has a MACPF domain, and the aegerolysin-like protein pleurotolysin A, and the very similar ostreolysin A, which have been purified from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). These have been shown to act in concert to perforate natural and artificial lipid membranes with high cholesterol and sphingomyelin content. The aegerolysin-like proteins provide the membrane cholesterol/sphingomyelin selectivity and recruit oligomerised pleurotolysin B molecules, to create a membrane-inserted pore complex. The resulting protein structure has been imaged with electron microscopy, and it has a 13-meric rosette-like structure, with a central lumen that is ~4-5 nm in diameter. The opened transmembrane pore is non-selectively permeable for ions and smaller neutral solutes, and is a cause of cytolysis of a colloid-osmotic type. The biological significance of these proteins for the fungal life-style is discussed.

Ostreolysin A (OlyA) is an ∼15-kDa protein that has been shown to bind selectively to membranes rich in cholesterol and sphingomyelin. In this study, we investigated whether OlyA fluorescently tagged at the C-terminal with mCherry (OlyA-mCherry) labels cholesterol/sphingomyelin domains in artificial membrane systems and in membranes of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells. OlyA-mCherry showed similar lipid binding characteristics to non-tagged OlyA. OlyA-mCherry also stained cholesterol/sphingomyelin domains in the plasma membranes of both fixed and living MDCK cells, and in the living cells, this staining was abolished by pretreatment with either methyl-β-cyclodextrin or sphingomyelinase. Double labelling of MDCK cells with OlyA-mCherry and the sphingomyelin-specific markers equinatoxin II-Alexa488 and GST-lysenin, the cholera toxin B subunit as a probe that binds to the ganglioside GM1, or the cholesterol-specific D4 domain of perfringolysin O fused with EGFP, showed different patterns of binding and distribution of OlyA-mCherry in comparison with these other proteins. Furthermore, we show that OlyA-mCherry is internalised in living MDCK cells, and within 90 min it reaches the juxtanuclear region via caveolin-1-positive structures. No binding to membranes could be seen when OlyA-mCherry was expressed in MDCK cells. Altogether, these data clearly indicate that OlyA-mCherry is a promising tool for labelling a distinct pool of cholesterol/sphingomyelin membrane domains in living and fixed cells, and for following these domains when they are apparently internalised by the cell.

The inhibitory effect of a series of neutral lipophilic solutes (methanol, ethanol, n -propanol, iso -propanol, n -butanol, iso -amylalcohol, n -hexanol, diethylether, nitrobenzene, and pyridine) on the diffusional water permeability ( P d, tot ) of bovine erythrocyte membrane at 25°C was studied in comparison to that of p -chloromercuri benzoate (pCMB). Permeability data were obtained by measuring the transmembrane diffusional water exchange time τ exch using an 1 H- T 2 NMR technique. Maximal inhibition by ∼50% of P d, tot was produced by 2 mM pCMB which completely blocked the membrane water channels in 20 min, hence suggesting the channel-to-lipid diffusional water permeability ratio of about 1:1. Furthermore, the maximal inhibitory effect of pCMB in combination with the lipophilic solutes was lower than that of pCMB alone. As pCMB does not interfere with the lipid bilayer, and provided that it blocks the water channels in solute presence as well, this confirms that the solutes induce an increase in the lipid-mediated background water permeability contribution ( P d, lipid ) by the formation of aqueous leaks in the membrane hydrophobic barrier. However, faster but less efficient in permeability inhibition than pCMB (either alone or combined with solutes) were the lipophilic solutes alone. Taken together, the results indicate that the lipophilic solutes suppress the membrane total permeability P d, tot by two opposing effects: a reduction of its channel-mediated part ( P d, channel ) to the extent exceeding that of a simultaneous P d, lipid increase. The inhibitory potency of the solutes tested appears to be correlated with their solubility in the membrane medium.

The killing activity of sea-anemone cytolysins on Giardia duodenalis wasinvestigated. Three different toxins, sticholysin I and II from Stichodactyla helianthus (St I and St II) and equinatoxin II from Actinia equina (EqtII) were all found to beactive in an acute test, with a C50 in the nanomolar range (St I, 0.5 nM; St II, 1.6 nM; and EqtII, 0.8 nM). A method to target the cytolysin activity more specifically towards theparasite cells by using anti-Giardia antibodies was then investigated. Parasite cells weresensitised with a primary murine monoclonal or polyclonal antibody followed by a biotinylatedsecondary anti-mouse-IgG monoclonal antibody. Subsequently, avidin and a biotinylated EqtIImutant were added, either in two separate steps or as a pre-formed conjugate. When themonoclonal antibody was used, the C50 of biotinylated EqtII was 1.3 nM withsensitised cells and 5 nM with non-sensitised cells, indicating a four-fold enhancement of activitywith the cell treatment. Treatment with the polyclonal antibody was somehow more effective thanwith the monoclonal antibody in an acute test. This indicates that sea-anemone cytolysins canefficiently kill Giardia cells, and that it is possible to improve, to a certain extent, theanti-parasite specificity of these toxins with anti-Giardia antibodies. However, thefeasibility of this approach in vivo remains to be demonstrated. © 1999 Australian Society forParasitology

A synthetic linear tetrazacyclopent(f)azulene compound, parazoanthoxanthin A (m.w. 214.2), strongly fluorescent pigment occurring in zoanthids, was characterized and assayed for anticholinesterase activity. The pigment, emitting fluorescence at lambda(em) 420 nm, was found to be a pure competitive inhibitor of cholinesterases. At pH 8.0, a Ki value of 19 and 26 microM was determined with insect recombinant, and electric eel acetylcholinesterase. Horse serum butyrylcholinesterase was less sensitive with a Ki of 70 microM.

Equinatoxin II (EqtII) is a cysteinless pore-forming protein from sea anemoneActinia equina.Three cysteine mutants were produced in anE. coliexpression system in order to study the topology of lysine 77, arginine 126, and alanine 179. Accessibility of an introduced thiol group in the water soluble mutants was studied by using the thiol specific reagent fluorescein maleimide. In aqueous solution all three mutants were readily modified with the probe, indicating their accessibility to the solvent. Mutants were also biotinylated with biotin maleimide, enabling coupling with avidin–fluorescein isothiocyanate (avidin-FITC). After binding and insertion of biotinylated toxins into liposomes, avidin-FITC, which is unable to enter intravesicular compartment through toxin-created pores, was used to discriminate intra- or extravesicularly located thiols. All the mutated residues are found to be located on the outside of the lipid vesicles. The results proved the biotin-avidin system as suitable for topological studies of proteins creating pores in membranes.

Proteins with membrane-attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domains are found in almost all kingdoms of life, and they have a variety of biological roles, including defence and attack, organism development, and cell adhesion and signalling. The distribution of these proteins in fungi appears to be restricted to some Pezizomycotina and Basidiomycota species only, in correlation with another group of proteins with unknown biological function, known as aegerolysins. These two protein groups coincide in only a few species, and they might operate in concert as cytolytic bi-component pore-forming agents. Representative proteins here include pleurotolysin B, which has a MACPF domain, and the aegerolysin-like protein pleurotolysin A, and the very similar ostreolysin A, which have been purified from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). These have been shown to act in concert to perforate natural and artificial lipid membranes with high cholesterol and sphingomyelin content. The aegerolysin-like proteins provide the membrane cholesterol/sphingomyelin selectivity and recruit oligomerised pleurotolysin B molecules, to create a membrane-inserted pore complex. The resulting protein structure has been imaged with electron microscopy, and it has a 13-meric rosette-like structure, with a central lumen that is ~4–5 nm in diameter. The opened transmembrane pore is non-selectively permeable for ions and smaller neutral solutes, and is a cause of cytolysis of a colloid-osmotic type. The biological significance of these proteins for the fungal life-style is discussed.

Thermal denaturation of equinatoxin II (EqTxII) in glycine buffer solutions (pH 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5) and in triple distilled water (pH 5.5-6.0) was examined by differential scanning calorimetry, UV and CD spectroscopy and fluorescence emission spectroscopy of the added hydrophobic fluorescent probe ANS. At pH 5.5-6.0 and at temperatures below 60 degrees C, the protein exists in a native state characterized by a pronounced tertiary structure, a beta-rich secondary structure and a low degree of ANS-binding. At higher temperatures, it undergoes a two-state conformational transition, (delta H degree)VH = (delta H degree)DSC, into an unfolded state, which is characterized by a complete collapse of its tertiary structure and an incomplete denaturation of its secondary structure. At acidic pH, the EqTxII temperature-induced conformational transition appears at lower temperatures as non-two-state transition accompanied by the formation of an intermediate state which shows characteristics of molten globules, i.e., absence of defined tertiary structure, increase in alpha-rich secondary structure, and high affinity for ANS. At pH 2.0, the low-temperature initial state of EqTxII is already partially denatured; the tertiary structure is partially disrupted, and a pronounced inequality (delta H degree)VH > (delta H degree)DSC is observed. At pH value of 1.1 and below 60 degrees C, EqTxII exists in a stable acid-denatured compact state which shows all the characteristics of a molten globule, which even at 95 degrees C is not completely denatured. According to numerous studies on the pore forming toxins, such acid-denatured compact states may contribute to the protein's ability to penetrate into biological membranes.

The role of the N-terminal segment 1-33 of equinatoxin II, a 20 kDa pore-forming protein from the sea anemone Actinia equina, was studied by N-truncation mutagenesis. A part of this segment was classified as being amphiphilic and membrane seeking. Wild-type equinatoxin II and its mutants lacking 5, 10 and 33 amino acid residues, respectively, were produced in Escherichia coli using T7 RNA polymerase-based expression vector. Soluble recombinant proteins were isolated from bacterial lysates and assayed for their inhibition by sphingomyelin, binding to red blood cells and hemolytic activity. The N-terminal deletion of 33 amino acids resulted in an insoluble protein, while mutants lacking 5 and 10 residues expressed increased relative avidity for sphingomyelin and red blood cell membranes. Their specific hemolytic activity was decreased, however, with increasing truncation. The results suggest that the N-terminus, which has been found to be conserved in sea anemone pore-forming toxins, contributes to the solubility of the equinatoxin II, but it is not essential for binding to lipid membranes. It is very likely that the N-terminus play a role in the formation of functional pores.

We screened the biological activity of 21 marine sponges collected in the northern Adriatic sea. Hemolytic, hemagglutinating, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and anti-acetilcholinesterase activities of the extracts were monitored. We found that hemolytic activity was generally weak; only extracts from three sponge species possess considerable activity. Hemagglutinating activity was present in almost half of extracts but with little specificity against human erythrocytes of different blood groups. Detectable antimicrobial activity was present in only two extracts, while most of them possessed cytotoxic activity. Strong anti-cholinesterase activity was present only in one sample. 3-alkypyridinium polymers isolated from Reniera sarai were hemolytic and strongly cytotoxic against different cell lines with slightly expressed specificity against transformed cells.

Equinatoxin II, a 19.8 kDa pore-forming toxin from the sea anemone Actinia equina, was examined for hemolytic activity and permeabilization of small unilamellar lipid vesicles (SUV) in the presence of increasing amounts of n-alcohols (methanol to n-octanol) and fatty acids (palmitic and palmitoleic acid). We observed an enhancement of toxin activity which was dependent on the concentration of the membrane partitioning additive. An exception was palmitic acid which exerted a bimodal role. While at low bulk concentrations it increased toxin-induced hemolysis, above 3 µM bulk concentration it was inhibitory; in neither case was it efficient in promoting release of the fluorescent marker calcein from SUV. The increased permeabilization activity was correlated with an increase in the amount of toxin bound as indicated by changes in the intrinsic toxin fluorescence. In the case of n-alcohols, at least, these effects appeared to depend on the actual amount of alcohol present inside the membrane rather than on its specific chemical nature. This suggests that the observed effects could be due to changes of the biophysical properties of the lipid bilayer, such as thickness, lipid acyl-chain ordering, and dielectric constant induced by the partitioned additives.

Cnidarians, mostly soft-bodied water organisms, produce several classes of toxins deployed in biological warfare or signalling. Cytolytic toxins, that form pores in cell membranes, form a significant part of their "weaponry". Here, we describe the physiological relevance of membrane permeabilization, and present basic data on those proteinaceous cnidarian cytolysins proven or presumed to damage cell membranes by pore formation. We describe cytolysins that have been at least partially characterized, both functionally and structurally.

article i nfo Proteins with hemopexin repeats are widespread in viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We report here for the first time the existence of a protein in fungi with the four-bladed β-propeller fold that is typical for hemopexin- like proteins. This protein was isolated from the edible basidiomycetous fungus Pleurotus ostreatus and is named ostreopexin. It binds to Ni 2+ -NTA-agarose, and is structurally and functionally very similar to PA2 albumins isolated from legume seeds and the hemopexin fold protein from rice. Like these plant proteins, ostreopexin shows revers- ible binding to hemin with moderate affinity, but does not bind to polyamines. We suggest that ostreopexin partic- ipates in intracellular management of metal (II or III)-chelates.

The solvent denaturation of equinatoxin II (EgTxII) in aqueous solutions of urea, guanidine hydrochloride (Gu-HCI) and at various pH values was examined by monitoring changes in the protein intrinsic emission fluorescence spectra and in the fluorescence spectra of the added external probe ANS. It has been observed that EgTxII denaturation is reflected in a strong red shift of intrinsic fluorescence emission maxima accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in fluorescence intensity and that guanidine hydrochloride is significantly more powerful denaturant than urea or changing of pH. Comparison of intrinsic fluorescence spectra of EgTxII denatured by one of the three denaturing agents has shown that the fully denatured states of the protein in Gu-HCI and urea are similar and substantially different from those induced by changing of pH. Furthermore, according to the measurements of the ANS-fluorescence in EgTxII solutions as a function of pH the protein exists at pH values below 2.0 in an acid-denatured compact state.