Enterotoxin of Clostridium perfringens type A forms ion-permeable channels in a lipid bilayer membrane.
The enterotoxin of Clostridium perfringens type A was found to form ion-permeable channels in a lipid bilayer. A patch clamp technique was used to detect channel activities in an asolectin bilayer with incorporated enterotoxin. About 20% of the lipid bilayer patches examined showed rectangular or stepwise shift of membrane current. The shifts indicated the gating of ion-permeable channels in the patches. The channels showed high conductance (40-450 pS), no rectification in current-voltage curves and occasional long-lasting events. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the mechanism of action of the toxin.
Sugimoto
N
N
Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Japan.
Takagi
M
M
Ozutsumi
K
K
Harada
S
S
Matsuda
M
M
D003016:Clostridium perfringens; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004768:Enterotoxins; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008954:Models, Biological; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids
D004768:Enterotoxins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; C035598:enterotoxin, Clostridium; C024990:asolectin