Phobalysin, a Small β-Pore-Forming Toxin of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae

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 characteriz...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection and immunity 2015-11, Vol.83 (11), p.4335-4348
Main Authors: Rivas, Amable J, von Hoven, Gisela, Neukirch, Claudia, Meyenburg, Martina, Qin, Qianqian, Füser, Sabine, Boller, Klaus, Lemos, Manuel L, Osorio, Carlos R, Husmann, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Bacterial Adhesion
Bacterial Toxins - chemistry
Bacterial Toxins - genetics
Bacterial Toxins - metabolism
Bacterial Toxins - toxicity
Epithelial Cells - microbiology
Erythrocytes - cytology
Erythrocytes - drug effects
Hemolysin Proteins - chemistry
Hemolysin Proteins - genetics
Hemolysin Proteins - metabolism
Hemolysin Proteins - toxicity
Hemolysis
Humans
Molecular Pathogenesis
Molecular Sequence Data
Photobacterium - chemistry
Photobacterium - genetics
Photobacterium - metabolism
Photobacterium damselae
Rabbits
Sequence Alignment
Spotlight
Vibrio cholerae
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0019-9567
1098-5522
DOI:10.1128/IAI.00277-15