Coordinated delivery and function of bacterial MARTX toxin effectors

Patrick J. Woida, Karla J.F. Satchell*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacteria often coordinate virulence factors to fine-tune the host response during infection. These coordinated events can include toxins counteracting or amplifying effects of another toxin or though regulating the stability of virulence factors to remove their function once it is no longer needed. Multifunctional autoprocessing repeats-in toxin (MARTX) toxins are effector delivery toxins that form a pore into the plasma membrane of a eukaryotic cell to deliver multiple effector proteins into the cytosol of the target cell. The function of these proteins includes manipulating actin cytoskeletal dynamics, regulating signal transduction pathways and inhibiting host secretory pathways. Investigations into the molecular mechanisms of these effector domains are providing insight into how the function of some effectors overlap and regulate one another during infection. Coordinated crosstalk of effector function suggests that MARTX toxins are not simply a sum of all their parts. Instead, modulation of cell function by effector domains may depend on which other effector domain are co-delivered. Future studies will elucidate how these effectors interact with each other to modulate the bacterial host interaction.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)133-141
Number of pages9
JournalMolecular Microbiology
Volume107
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Microbiology

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