期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:1976
卷号:73
期号:12
页码:4449-4453
DOI:10.1073/pnas.73.12.4449
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:Binding of the nonionic detergent [3H]Triton X-100 by diphtheria toxin, by the nontoxic serologically related protein crossreacting material (CRM) 45, and by their respective A and B fragments has been studied. If first denatured in 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, all of the proteins with the exception of fragment A bind increasing amounts of Triton X-100, reaching a maximum of more than 40 mol bound per mol of protein when the detergent concentration exceeds its critical micelle concentration. No measurable amount of Triton X-100 is bound by native toxin or its A fragment of any concentration of the detergent. Undenatured CRM45 or its B45 fragment, on the other hand, readily became inserted into Triton X-100 micelles when the detergent reaches its critical micelle concentration. The results show that the toxin molecule contains a hydrophobic domain located on the portion of the B fragment that is linked to A. This region is masked in native toxin. Based on these findings, a model is proposed to describe how fragment B facilitates the transport of the enzymically active hydrophilic fragment A across the plasma membrane to reach the cytoplasm.