Lipid rafts are putative complexes of lipids and proteins in cellular membranes that are proposed to function in trafficking and signalling events. CTxB (cholera toxin B-subunit) has emerged as one of the most studied examples of a raft-associated protein. Consisting of the membrane-binding domain of cholera toxin, CTxB binds up to five copies of its lipid receptor on the plasma membrane of the host cell. This multivalency of binding gives the toxin the ability to reorganize underlying membrane structure by cross-linking otherwise small and transient lipid rafts. CTxB thus serves as a useful model for understanding the properties and functions of protein-stabilized domains. In the present chapter, we summarize current evidence that CTxB associates with and cross-links lipid rafts, discuss how CTxB binding modulates the architecture and dynamics of membrane domains, and describe the functional consequences of this cross-linking behaviour on toxin uptake into cells via endocytosis.
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February 2015
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February 06 2015
Functions of cholera toxin B-subunit as a raft cross-linker
Charles A. Day
;
Charles A. Day
1
*Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, U.S.A.
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Anne K. Kenworthy
Anne K. Kenworthy
2
*Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, U.S.A.
†Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, U.S.A.
‡Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, U.S.A.
§Epithelial Biology Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, U.S.A.
2To whom correspondence should be addressed (email anne.kenworthy@vanderbilt.edu).
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Essays Biochem (2015) 57: 135–145.
Citation
Ingela Parmryd, Charles A. Day, Anne K. Kenworthy; Functions of cholera toxin B-subunit as a raft cross-linker. Essays Biochem 15 February 2015; 57 135–145. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bse0570135
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