AEROLYSIN - A PARADIGM FOR MEMBRANE INSERTION OF BETA-SHEET PROTEIN TOXINS

The determination of the crystal structure of the bacterial protein pr oaerolysin provided the first view of a pore-forming toxin constructed mainly from beta-sheet. The structure that was obtained and subsequen t 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 simila rities between aerolysin and other toxins suggest that the structure/f unction studies we have made may prove useful in understanding the act ions of a number of pore-forming proteins. (C) 1998 Academic Press.