title: Carbohydrate recognition by Clostridium difficile toxin A.
abstract: Clostridium difficile TcdA is a large toxin that binds carbohydrates on intestinal epithelial cells. A 2-A resolution cocrystal structure reveals two molecules of alpha-Gal-(1,3)-beta-Gal-(1,4)-beta-GlcNAcO(CH(2))(8)CO(2)CH(3) binding in an extended conformation to TcdA. Residues forming key contacts with the trisaccharides are conserved in all seven putative binding sites in TcdA, suggesting a mode of multivalent binding that may be exploited for the rational design of novel therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada T2N 1N4.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: Jason G S
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Shuang-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Monica M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Palcic
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rupnik
authors.forename: Kenneth K-S
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D002241:Carbohydrates; D004768:Enterotoxins; C041348:tcdA protein, Clostridium difficile