Aerolysin--a paradigm for membrane insertion of beta-sheet protein toxins?

J Struct Biol. 1998;121(2):92-100. doi: 10.1006/jsbi.1997.3947.

Abstract

The determination of the crystal structure of the bacterial protein proaerolysin provided the first view of a pore-forming toxin constructed mainly from beta-sheet. The structure that was obtained and subsequent crystallographic and biochemical studies have together allowed us to explain how the toxin is transformed from a water-soluble dimer to a heptameric transmembrane pore. Recent discoveries of structural similarities between aerolysin and other toxins suggest that the structure/function studies we have made may prove useful in understanding the actions of a number of pore-forming proteins.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Toxins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Toxins / metabolism
  • Bacterial Toxins / pharmacology
  • Cell Membrane Permeability / drug effects*
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Cytotoxins / chemistry
  • Dimerization
  • Hemolysin Proteins / chemistry
  • Ion Channels / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Plant Proteins / chemistry
  • Polymers
  • Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Precursors / chemistry
  • Protein Structure, Secondary*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Bacterial Toxins
  • Cytotoxins
  • Hemolysin Proteins
  • Ion Channels
  • Plant Proteins
  • Polymers
  • Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins
  • Protein Precursors
  • hemolytic toxin, Clostridium septicum
  • enterolobin protein, Enterolobium contortisiliquum
  • aerolysin