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Pathogenic Mechanisms of Actin Cross-Linking Toxins: Peeling Away the Layers
- Source :
- Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ISBN: 9783319500461
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Springer International Publishing, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Actin cross-linking toxins are produced by Gram-negative bacteria from Vibrio and Aeromonas genera. The toxins were named actin cross-linking domains (ACD), since the first and most of the subsequently discovered ACDs were found as effector domains in larger MARTX and VgrG toxins. Among recognized human pathogens, ACD is produced by Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, and Aeromonas hydrophila. Upon delivery to the cytoplasm of a host cell, ACD covalently cross-links actin monomers into non-polymerizable actin oligomers of various lengths. Provided sufficient doses of toxin are delivered, most or all actin can be promptly cross-linked into non-functional oligomers, leading to cell rounding, detachment from the substrate and, in many cases, cell death. Recently, a deeper layer of ACD toxicity with a less obvious but more potent mechanism was discovered. According to this finding, low doses of the ACD-produced actin oligomers can actively disrupt the actin cytoskeleton by potently inhibiting essential actin assembly proteins, formins. The first layer of toxicity is direct (as actin is the immediate and the only target), passive (since ACD-cross-linked actin oligomers are toxic only because they are non-functional), and less potent (as bulk quantities of one of the most abundant cytoplasmic proteins, actin, have to be modified). The second mechanism is indirect (as major targets, formins, are not affected by ACD directly), active (because actin oligomers act as “secondary” toxins), and highly potent [as it affects scarce and essential actin-binding proteins (ABPs)].
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
biology
Chemistry
Effector
030106 microbiology
Cell
macromolecular substances
medicine.disease_cause
biology.organism_classification
Actin cytoskeleton
Vibrio
Cell biology
03 medical and health sciences
medicine.anatomical_structure
Cytoplasm
Vibrio cholerae
Formins
medicine
biology.protein
Actin
Subjects
Details
- ISBN :
- 978-3-319-50046-1
- ISBNs :
- 9783319500461
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ISBN: 9783319500461
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........996c7784ab896f0351df13818b32236f