Autoproteolytic Activation of Bacterial Toxins

• Main Author: Aimee Shen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010-05-01
• Series: Toxins
• Subjects: cysteine protease domain (CPD); MARTX toxin; glucosylating toxin (GT); inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6); glucosyltransferase (Glc); structure activity relationship (SAR)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/2/5/963/

Protease domains within toxins typically act as the primary effector domain within target cells. By contrast, the primary function of the cysteine protease domain (CPD) in Multifunctional Autoprocessing RTX-like (MARTX) and Clostridium sp. glucosylating toxin families is to proteolytically cleave the toxin and release its cognate effector domains. The CPD becomes activated upon binding to the eukaryotic-specific small molecule, inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6), which is found abundantly in the eukaryotic cytosol. This property allows the CPD to spatially and temporally regulate toxin activation, making it a prime candidate for developing anti-toxin therapeutics. In this review, we summarize recent findings related to defining the regulation of toxin function by the CPD and the development of inhibitors to prevent CPD-mediated activation of bacterial toxins.