Open AccessSmall GTP‐binding proteins of the Rho‐ and Ras‐subfamilies are not involved in the actin rearrangements induced by attaching and effacing Escherichia coli
Author(s) -
Ebel Frank,
EichelStreiber Christoph,
Rohde Manfred,
Chakraborty Trinad
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1998.tb13033.x
Subject(s) - actin , microfilament , cytoskeleton , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , actin cytoskeleton , gtp' , actin binding protein , escherichia coli , clostridium difficile toxin b , biochemistry , clostridium difficile toxin a , cell , clostridium difficile , enzyme , antibiotics , gene
Attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) are extracellular pathogens that induce the formation of actin‐rich structures at their sites of attachment to eukaryotic host cells. We analysed whether small GTP‐binding proteins of the Rho‐ and Ras‐subfamilies, which control the cellular actin system, are essential for these bacterial‐induced microfilament reorganizations. For this purpose we specifically inactivated them using the Clostridium difficile toxins TcdB‐10463 and TcdB‐1470. Such treatment led to a dramatic breakdown of the normal actin cytoskeleton, but did not abrogate the bacterial‐induced actin rearrangements. Our data therefore indicate that the microfilament reorganizations induced by AEEC are independent of those small GTP‐binding proteins that under normal conditions control the dynamics and maintenance of the actin cytoskeleton.