Differential interaction of the two cholesterol-dependent, membrane-damaging toxins, streptolysin O and Vibrio cholerae cytolysin, with enantiomeric cholesterol

Alexander Zitzer, Emily J. Westover, Douglas F. Covey, Michael Palmer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Membrane cholesterol is essential to the activity of at least two structurally unrelated families of bacterial pore-forming toxins, represented by streptolysin O (SLO) and Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC), respectively. Here, we report that SLO and VCC differ sharply in their interaction with liposome membranes containing enantiomeric cholesterol (ent-cholesterol). VCC had very low activity with ent-cholesterol, which is in line with a stereospecific mode of interaction of this toxin with cholesterol. In contrast, SLO was only slightly less active with ent-cholesterol than with cholesterol, suggesting a rather limited degree of structural specificity in the toxin-cholesterol interaction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)229-231
Number of pages3
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume553
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 23 2003

Keywords

  • Cholesterol-binding cytolysins
  • Enantiomeric cholesterol
  • Protein-cholesterol interaction
  • Streptolysin O
  • Vibrio cholerae cytolysin

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Differential interaction of the two cholesterol-dependent, membrane-damaging toxins, streptolysin O and Vibrio cholerae cytolysin, with enantiomeric cholesterol'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this