화학공학소재연구정보센터
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol.284, No.3, 568-573, 2001
Effect of pH on stability of anthrax lethal factor: Correlation between denaturation and activity
Anthrax is caused by Gram positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Pathogenesis is result of production of three protein components, protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF), and edema factor (EF). PA in combination with LF (lethal toxin) is lethal to animals, while PA in combination with EF (edema toxin), causes edema. PA, LF, and EF are very thermolabile. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to unravel the energetics of LF denaturation as a function of pH ranging from 7.8 to 5.5. Transition temperature (T-m) of LF was found to be approximate to 42 degreesC and onset of denaturation occurs at approximate to 30 degreesC. The ratio of calorimetric to van't Hoff's enthalpy was nearly equal to unity at pH 7.0, indicative of presence of single structural domain in LF at pH 7.0, unlike PA which has been structurally observed to consist of 4 domains. It was found by cytotoxicity studies using J774A.1 macrophage like cells that LF was most stable at pH similar to6.5. This paper reports for the first time the denaturation of LF at different pH values at 37 degreesC and tries to establish a correlation between denaturation and loss of LF activity at different pH values.