E. Lemichez et al., MOLECULAR LOCALIZATION OF THE ESCHERICHIA-COLI CYTOTOXIC NECROTIZING FACTOR CNF1 CELL-BINDING AND CATALYTIC DOMAINS, Molecular microbiology, 24(5), 1997, pp. 1061-1070
Cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (CNF1) induces, in epithelial cell
s, the development of stress fibres via the GTPase Rho pathway. We sho
wed that CNF1 is able to modify Rho both in vitro and in vivo. Recombi
nant N-terminal 33 kDa (CNF1Nter) and C-terminal 14.8-31.5 kDa (CNF1Ct
er) regions of the CNF1 protein allowed us to demonstrate that the N-t
erminal region contains the cell-binding domain of the toxin and that
the C-terminal region is responsible for its catalytic activity. CNF1N
ter lowered the activity of CNF1 when provided to cells before the tox
in whereas CNF1Cter had no effect on CNF1 cell toxicity. CNF1Cter was
sufficient to induce a typical CNF1 phenotype when microinjected into
African green monkey kidney cells (Vero cells), and was able to modify
Rho as previously reported for CNF1. The C-terminal domain lost its c
atalytic activity when deleted of various subdomains, suggesting a sca
ttered distribution of catalytic-site amino acids, Elucidation of the
CNF1 functional organization and analysis of amino acid homologies bet
ween CNFs (CNF1, CNF2), Pasteurella multocida toxin (PMT) and dermonec
rotic toxin of Bordetella pertussis (DNT) allowed us to postulate that
CNFs and DNT act on Rho via the same enzymatic activity located in th
eir C-terminus, and that CNFs and PMT probably bind to analogous cell
receptors.