Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Importance
Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans worldwide and a significant cause of childhood mortality due to diarrheal disease in developing countries. A major factor by which C. jejuni causes disease is a toxin, called cytolethal distending toxin (CDT). The biology of this toxin, however, is poorly understood. In this study, we report that C. jejuni CDT is protected within membrane blebs, known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by the bacterium. We showed that proteins on the surfaces of EVs are not required for EV uptake by host cells. Furthermore, we identified several sugar receptors that may be required for EV binding to host cells. By studying the EV-associated form of C. jejuni CDT, we will gain a greater understanding of how C. jejuni intoxicates host cells and how EV-associated CDT may be used in various therapeutic applications, including as anti-tumor therapies.
SUBMITTER: Le LHM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10913475 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Microbiology spectrum 20240206 3
Cytolethal distending toxins (CDTs) are released by Gram-negative pathogens into the extracellular medium as free toxin or associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs), commonly known as outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). CDT production by the gastrointestinal pathogen <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> has been implicated in colorectal tumorigenesis. Despite CDT being a major virulence factor for <i>C. jejuni</i>, little is known about the EV-associated form of this toxin. To address this point, C. <i>je ...[more]