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. 1993 Dec 15;296(Pt 3):671–674. doi: 10.1042/bj2960671

Characterization of the solution properties and conformation of pneumolysin, the membrane-damaging toxin of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

P J Morgan 1, P G Varley 1, A J Rowe 1, P W Andrew 1, T J Mitchell 1
PMCID: PMC1137749  PMID: 8280065

Abstract

Pneumolysin is a membrane-damaging toxin produced by Streptococcus pneumoniae. In order to understand fully the mode of action of this toxin, it is necessary to have an appreciation of the size, self-association behaviour and solution conformation of pneumolysin. A combination of analytical ultracentrifugation methodologies has shown that pneumolysin lacks self-association behaviour in solution and has provided a weight-average M(r) (M omega) of 52,000 +/- 2000, which was in agreement with that derived from the amino acid sequence. By determining a sedimentation coefficient (S20,w0) of 3.35 +/- 0.10 S, it was possible to suggest a model for the gross solution conformation of pneumolysin monomers. Spectroscopic methods provide additional secondary and tertiary structure information.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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