Membrane attack induced by HlyA,a pore-forming toxin of Vibrio cholerae

Abstract

Determining the activity of purified toxins has generally provided the basis for establishing their role in the host- pathogen relationship. The bacterial genus Vibrio pro duces a number of exotoxins in addition to cholera toxin, including haemolysin A (HIyA; Vibrio cholerae) and thermostable direct haemolysin (TDH; Vibrio parahae molyticus), both of which possess membrane-targeting cytolytic activity. The action of HlyA has been analyzed using protocols previously applied to TDH: lysis and flux experiments on human erythrocytes showed that HlyA similarly causes lysis after cell swelling (by colloid osmosis) due to an elevation of cation permeability. However, kinetic measurements of flux, haemolysis and cation selectivity showed that HlyA and TDH form pores with distinct and characteristic features.

Keywords

HlyA Vibrio cholerae El Tor bacterial toxin haemolysis red blood cell

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Honda T. , Finkelstein RA

Purification and characterization of a hemolysin produced by Vibrio cholerae biotype El Tor: another toxic substance produced by cholera vibrios

Infect Immun 1979; 26 : 1020-7.

Yamamoto K. et al . Non-O1 Vibrio cholerae hemolysin: purification, partial characterization, and immunological relatedness to El Tor hemolysin Infect Immun 1984; 45: 192-6.

Yamamoto K. et al . Identity of hemolysins produced by Vibrio cholerae Non-O1 and V. cholerae O1, biotype El Tor Infect Immun 1986; 51: 927-31.

Yamamoto K. et al . 2 Step processing for activation of the cytolysin/hemolysin of Vibro cholerae O1 biotype El Tor, nucleotide sequence of the structural gene (hlyA) and characterization of the processed products Infect Immun 1990; 58: 4106-16.

Blake PA , Weaver RE , Hollis DG

Diseases of humans (other than cholera) caused by vibrios

Ann Rev Microbiol 1990; 34 : 341-67.

Yamamoto K. , Wright AC , Kaper JB , Morris JG

The cytolysin gene of Vibrio vulnificus: sequence and relationship to the Vibrio cholerae El Tor hemolysin gene

Infect Immun 1990; 58: 2706-9.

Ichinose Y. et al . Enterotoxicity of El Tor-like hemolysin of non-O1 Vibrio cholerae Infect Immun 1987; 55: 1090-3.

Hall RH , Drasar BS

Vibrio cholerae HlyA hemolysin is processed by proteolysis

Infect Immun 1990; 58 : 3375-9.

Krasilnikov OV , Muratkhodjaev JN , Zitzer AO

The mode of action of Vibrio cholerae cytolysin. The influences on both erythrocytes and planar lipid bilayers

Biochim Biophys Acta 1992; 1111: 7-16.

10.

Zitzer A. , Walev I. , Palmer M. , Bhakdi S.

Characterization of Vibrio cholerae El Tor cytolysin as an oligomerizing pore-forming toxin

Med Microbiol Immunol 1995; 184: 37-44.

11.

Huntley JS , Hall AC , Sathyamoorthy V. , Hall RH

Cation flux studies of the lesion induced in human erythrocyte membranes by the thermostable direct hemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Infect Immun 1993; 61 : 4326-32.

12.

Huntley JS , Hall AC

Changes to erythrocyte membrane cation permeability induced by a bacterial toxin

Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 1996; 431: 668- 70.

13.

Huntley JS , Hall AC

Nature of the cation leak induced in erythrocyte membranes by Kanagawa haemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Biochim Biophys Acta 1996; 1281: 220-6.

14.

Sathyamoorthy V. , Huntley JS , Hall AC , Hall RH Biochemical and physiological characteristics of HlyA, a pore-forming cytolysin of Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1 1997; Toxicon, In Press.

15.

Menestrina G. , Schiavo G. , Montecucco C. Molecular mechanisms of action of bacterial protein toxins Mol Asp Med 1994; 15: 79-153.

16.

Read RJ , Stein PE

Toxins

Curr Op Str Biol 1993; 3: 853-60.

17.

Welch RA Holistic perspective on the Escherichia coli hemolysin In: Molecular Genetics of Bacterial Pathogenesis 1994; (Eds) Miller VL, Kaper JB, Portnoy DA, Isberg RR. American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, pp. 351- 364.

18.

Bhakdi S. , Muhly M. , Korom S. , Schmidt G.

Effects of Escherichia coli hemolysin on human monocytes

J Clin Invest 1990; 85 : 1746-53.

19.

Nishibuchi M. , Fasano A. , Russell BG , Kaper JB

Enterotoxigenicity of Vibrio parahaemolyticus with and without genes encoding thermostable direct haemolysin

Infect Immun 1992; 60 : 3539-45.