Pore-forming toxins are a class of potent virulence factors that convert from a soluble form to a membrane-integrated pore. The bacterial toxin cytolysin A is one such pore-forming toxin, and it is responsible for the haemolytic phenotype of several Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica strains. Here, the crystal structure of the assembled pore is reported, and a sequential mechanism for its assembly proposed.
- Marcus Mueller
- Ulla Grauschopf
- Nenad Ban
