title: Phobalysin, a Small β-Pore-Forming Toxin of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae.
abstract: Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae, an important pathogen of marine animals, may also cause septicemia or hyperaggressive necrotizing fasciitis in humans. We previously showed that hemolysin genes are critical for virulence of this organism in mice and fish. In the present study, we characterized the hlyA gene product, a putative small β-pore-forming toxin, and termed it phobalysin P (PhlyP), for "photobacterial lysin encoded on a plasmid." PhlyP formed stable oligomers and small membrane pores, causing efflux of K(+), with no significant leakage of lactate dehydrogenase but entry of vital dyes. The latter feature distinguished PhlyP from the related Vibrio cholerae cytolysin. Attack by PhlyP provoked a loss of cellular ATP, attenuated translation, and caused profound morphological changes in epithelial cells. In coculture experiments with epithelial cells, Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae led to rapid hemolysin-dependent membrane permeabilization. Unexpectedly, hemolysins also promoted the association of P. damselae subsp. damselae with epithelial cells. The collective observations of this study suggest that membrane-damaging toxins commonly enhance bacterial adherence.
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Amable J
authors: AJ
authors: Rivas
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Gisela
authors: G
authors: von Hoven
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Neukirch
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Martina
authors: M
authors: Meyenburg
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Qianqian
authors: Q
authors: Qin
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Füser
authors: Paul Ehrlich Institut, Langen, Germany.
authors: Klaus
authors: K
authors: Boller
authors: Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors: Manuel L
authors: ML
authors: Lemos
authors: Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors: Carlos R
authors: CR
authors: Osorio
authors: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany husmann@uni-mainz.de.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Husmann
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins