Super toxins from a super bug: structure and function of Clostridium difficile toxins

Biochem J. 2011 Jun 15;436(3):517-26. doi: 10.1042/BJ20110106.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile, a highly infectious bacterium, is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis. In 2009, the number of death certificates mentioning C. difficile infection in the U.K. was estimated at 3933 with 44% of certificates recording infection as the underlying cause of death. A number of virulence factors facilitate its pathogenicity, among which are two potent exotoxins; Toxins A and B. Both are large monoglucosyltransferases that catalyse the glucosylation, and hence inactivation, of Rho-GTPases (small regulatory proteins of the eukaryote actin cell cytoskeleton), leading to disorganization of the cytoskeleton and cell death. The roles of Toxins A and B in the context of C. difficile infection is unknown. In addition to these exotoxins, some strains of C. difficile produce an unrelated ADP-ribosylating binary toxin. This toxin consists of two independently produced components: an enzymatic component (CDTa) and the other, the transport component (CDTb) which facilitates translocation of CDTa into target cells. CDTa irreversibly ADP-ribosylates G-actin in target cells, which disrupts the F-actin:G-actin equilibrium leading to cell rounding and cell death. In the present review we provide a summary of the current structural understanding of these toxins and discuss how it may be used to identify potential targets for specific drug design.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • ADP Ribose Transferases / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins* / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins* / metabolism
  • Bacterial Toxins* / chemistry
  • Bacterial Toxins* / metabolism
  • Clostridioides difficile / genetics
  • Clostridioides difficile / pathogenicity
  • Enterotoxins* / chemistry
  • Enterotoxins* / metabolism
  • Glucosyltransferases / chemistry
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Scattering, Small Angle
  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Bacterial Toxins
  • Enterotoxins
  • tcdA protein, Clostridium difficile
  • toxB protein, Clostridium difficile
  • Glucosyltransferases
  • ADP Ribose Transferases
  • actin-specific ADP-ribosyltransferase, Clostridium
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins