1mdt | pdb_00001mdt
THE REFINED STRUCTURE OF MONOMERIC DIPHTHERIA TOXIN AT 2.3 ANGSTROMS RESOLUTION
Structural highlights
Function[DTX_CORBE] Diphtheria toxin, produced by a phage infecting Corynebacterium diphtheriae, is a proenzyme that, after activation, catalyzes the covalent attachment of the ADP ribose moiety of NAD to eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF-2). Fragment A is the catalytic portion responsible for enzymatic ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2, while fragment B is responsible for binding of toxin to cell receptors and entry of fragment A.[1] [2] Publication Abstract from PubMedThe structure of toxic monomeric diphtheria toxin (DT) was determined at 2.3 A resolution by molecular replacement based on the domain structures in dimeric DT and refined to an R factor of 20.7%. The model consists of 2 monomers in the asymmetric unit (1,046 amino acid residues), including 2 bound adenylyl 3'-5' uridine 3' monophosphate molecules and 396 water molecules. The structures of the 3 domains are virtually identical in monomeric and dimeric DT; however, monomeric DT is compact and globular as compared to the "open" monomer within dimeric DT (Bennett MJ, Choe S, Eisenberg D, 1994b, Protein Sci 3:0000-0000). Detailed differences between monomeric and dimeric DT are described, particularly (1) changes in main-chain conformations of 8 residues acting as a hinge to "open" or "close" the receptor-binding (R) domain, and (2) a possible receptor-docking site, a beta-hairpin loop protruding from the R domain containing residues that bind the cell-surface DT receptor. Based on the monomeric and dimeric DT crystal structures we have determined and the solution studies of others, we present a 5-step structure-based mechanism of intoxication: (1) proteolysis of a disulfide-linked surface loop (residues 186-201) between the catalytic (C) and transmembrane (T) domains; (2) binding of a beta-hairpin loop protruding from the R domain to the DT receptor, leading to receptor-mediated endocytosis; (3) low pH-triggered open monomer formation and exposure of apolar surfaces in the T domain, which insert into the endosomal membrane; (4) translocation of the C domain into the cytosol; and (5) catalysis by the C domain of ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2. Refined structure of monomeric diphtheria toxin at 2.3 A resolution.,Bennett MJ, Eisenberg D Protein Sci. 1994 Sep;3(9):1464-75. PMID:7833808[3] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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