title: Membrane lipid composition protects Entamoeba histolytica from self-destruction by its pore-forming toxins.
abstract: The protozoan parasite and human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica is protected against killing by its own lytic effector proteins. Amoebae withstand doses of amoebapores, their pore-forming polypeptides, that readily kill human Jurkat T cells. Moreover, the polypeptides do not bind to the amoebic surface membrane as evidenced by using fluorescently labelled amoebapores and confocal laser microscopy. Experiments employing liposomes as a minimalistic membrane system and the major isoform amoebapore A revealed that the lipid composition of amoebic membranes prevents binding of the cytolytic molecule and that both the phospholipid ingredients and the high content of cholesterol contributes to the protection of the toxin-producing cell.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biophysics, Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz Center for Medicine and Biosciences, Parkallee 10, 23845 Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andrä
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Berninghausen
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leippe
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D004748:Entamoeba histolytica / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D007700:Kinetics; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D010743:Phospholipids; D020011:Protective Agents; D011485:Protein Binding; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003603:Cytotoxins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008081:Liposomes; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D020011:Protective Agents; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C041670:amoebapore proteins, protozoan; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D002784:Cholesterol