Diphtheria toxin entry: protein translocation in the reverse direction.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J O Moskaug.
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Pseudomonas toxin was found to bind Triton X-114 at pH values below pH 5.0, whereas much less binding was observed at higher pH values. The toxin bound Triton X-114 at a higher pH value in the presence of 0.14 M-NaCl, -KCl or -NaNO3 than at low salt concentrations. The results suggest that low pH in an intracellular compartment facilitates the transport of Pseudomonas toxin across the membrane and into the cytosol by inducing a conformational change in the molecule.
When 125I-labeled nicked diphtheria toxin bound to Vero cells was exposed to pH less than 5.0, a small fraction was reduced to yield A- and B-fragments. The pH required for reduction correlates well with that required to induce intoxication, and the amount of A-fragment released was of the same order as that required to intoxicate the cells. Conditions that protect cells against intoxication, such as acidification of the cytosol, treatment with anion transport inhibitors, or treatment with anti-diphtheria toxin antibodies, prevented the reduction of the interfragment disulfide in cell-bound toxin. In vitro, thioredoxin reduced nicked diphtheria toxin only at pH 5.0 and lower, and the reduction was inhibited by anti-toxin antibodies. This indicates that a conformational change in the toxin, necessary for reduction by the thioredoxin system, is prevented by the antibodies. Reduction by glutathione and cysteine was most efficient at neutral pH and was not inhibited by anti-toxin. The results are consistent with the possibility that cell-mediated reduction of the interfragment disulfide is a measure of the entry of fragment A into the cytosol.
In an attempt to identify the cell subpopulation involved in the humoral leukocyte adherence inhibition (H-LAI) reaction, mononuclear leukocytes were fractionated and the response with the different cell populations was measured in the H-LAI assay using sera from lung cancer patients and a lung cancer associated antigen. The monocytes were found to exhibit a suppressive effect on the H-LAI response. The B-lymphocytes seemed not to take an active part in the reaction. Depletion of the T-lymphocytes abolished the reaction. Subsequent studies on the T-lymphocyte subpopulations revealed that removal of the T4-cells had little effect while removal of the T8-cells resulted in complete abrogation of the H-LAI response. Direct blocking by monoclonal antibodies against the T4 and T8 surface determinants gave additional support for the T8-cell dependency of the H-LAI assay. The cells that specifically were induced to loose adherence in the H-LAI assay upon incubation with serum from a lung cancer patient and lung cancer associated antigen were also analyzed. Compared to the total mononuclear leukocyte population, the relative content of monocytes and B-cells were lower in the non-adherent population. An increase was found in the relative number of T-cells. While the relative number of T4-cells decreased, the content of T8-cells was significantly increased. Furthermore, a direct correlation was found between the loss of adherence of the T8-subpopulation and the index of the H-LAI response. The present study indicates the T8-subpopulation of the T-lymphocytes to be involved both in the effector and responder side of the H-LAI reaction and gives implications for an immunological reaction behind the response of the H-LAI assay.