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Change in membrane potential induced by streptolysin O, a pore‐forming toxin: flow cytometric analysis using a voltage‐sensitive fluorescent probe and rat thymic lymphocytes
Author(s) -
Kobayashi Miho,
Nishimura Madoka,
Kawamura Mina,
Kamemura Norio,
Nagamune Hideaki,
Tabata Atsushi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/1348-0421.12748
Subject(s) - streptolysin , depolarization , membrane potential , hyperpolarization (physics) , biophysics , biology , membrane , flow cytometry , fluorescence , membrane permeability , permeability (electromagnetism) , cell membrane , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , bacterial protein , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , gene
Streptolysin O (SLO) is a bacterial pore‐forming toxin that is employed to permeabilize cell membranes in some biological experiments. SLO forms various types of pores with different shapes, increasing membrane ion permeability and subsequently inducing changes in membrane potential. To characterize the pores formed by SLO, the changes in membrane potential induced by SLO in rat lymphocytes were considered using flow cytometry with a voltage‐sensitive fluorescent probe, bis‐(1,3‐dibutylbarbituric acid)trimethine oxonol (Oxonol). SLO caused three types of membrane potential responses accessed with Oxonol. One type induces a great decrease in Oxonol fluorescence (large hyperpolarization) that may be elicited via the increase of Ca 2+ ‐dependent K + permeability by SLO‐induced influx of external Ca 2+ . A second type is an increase in Oxonol fluorescence (depolarization) that may be caused by a nonspecific increase in membrane cation permeability. The third type is a small decrease in Oxonol fluorescence (small hyperpolarization), probably via an increase in Cl – permeability. That SLO transitionally changes membrane ion permeability may have implications in the pathology of pyogenic group streptococci infections in which SLO is thought to be one of the key virulence factors.