Browsing by Author "Liao, Man-Jun"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Multiple Pleomorphic Tetramers of Thermostable Direct Hemolysin from Grimontia hollisae in Exerting Hemolysis and Membrane Binding
(2019-07-08)
Wang, Yu-Kuo
;
Huang, Sheng-Cih
;
Chang, Chin-Yuan
;
Huang, Wan-Ting
;
Liao, Man-Jun
Oligomerization of protein into specific quaternary structures plays important biological functions, including regulation of gene expression, enzymes activity, and cell-cell interactions. Here, we report the determination of two crystal structures of the Grimontia hollisae (formally described as Vibrio hollisae) thermostable direct hemolysin (Gh-TDH), a pore-forming toxin. The toxin crystalized in the same space group of P2(1)2(1)2, but with two different crystal packing patterns, each revealing three consistent tetrameric oligomerization forms called Oligomer-I, -II, and -III. A central pore with comparable depth of similar to 50 angstrom but differing in shape and size was observed in all determined toxin tetrameric oligomers. A common motif of a toxin dimer was found in all determined structures, suggesting a plausible minimum functional unit within the tetrameric structure in cell membrane binding and possible hemolytic activity. Our results show that bacterial toxins may form a single or highly symmetric oligomerization state when exerting their biological functions. The dynamic nature of multiple symmetric oligomers formed upon release of the toxin may open a niche for bacteria survival in harsh living environments.