Glycosylphosphatidylinositols are potential targets for the development of novel inhibitors for aerolysin-type of pore-forming bacterial toxins.
Many bacteria produce toxins that cause damage through the formation of pores in the host cell membrane. Some of these toxins, such as aerolysin, use glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) as their binding receptors to assist the pore formation on the host cell surface and the subsequent insertion of the resultant pores into the cell membrane. GPIs are a class of complex glycolipids that anchor surface proteins and glycoproteins onto the cell membrane in eukaryotic species. This review has summarized the reported evidences supporting the GPI-dependent pore-forming mechanism for aerolysin-type of toxins and analyzed the possibility of targeting this unique process for the design and development of novel GPI-based inhibitors for these pore-forming bacterial toxins.
Wu
Qiuye
Q
School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Guo
Zhongwu
Z
D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry*; D001665:Binding Sites; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D002241:Carbohydrates; D006017:Glycolipids; D006023:Glycoproteins; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins; C032676:aerolysin