PMID: 9437495Jan 1, 1997Paper

Diphtheria toxin as a molecular tool in the study of acidic fibroblast growth factor signalling

Archivum Immunologiae Et Therapiae Experimentalis
A Wiedłocha

Abstract

In eukaryotic cells proteins are translocated across a number of cellular membranes into various intracellular organelles such as the endoplasmatic reticulum, mitochondria, peroxisomes and chloroplasts. In all these cases the proteins are translocated away from the cytosol. However, certain proteins are also translocated in the opposite direction, from the exterior to the cytosol. Well established examples are some bacterial and plant protein toxins, that exert their effect in the cytosol. A common property of protein toxins with intracellular action is that they contain two functionally different moieties, in many cases consisting of two. disulfide-linked polypeptides. Relatively little is known about how these proteins cross the membrane. The translocation process is best understood in the case of diphtheria toxin, which binds to cell surface receptors, is then taken up by endocytosis and is subsequently translocated to the cytosol, where it inactivates elongation factor 2. Recently it has been recognized that diphtheria toxin as well as a few other protein toxins can be used to carry passenger peptides or proteins into cells (in addition to other usefull roles which the toxins have begun to play in understanding many cellula...Continue Reading

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