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Article Addendum

Exploiting Cell Death Pathways by an E. coli Cytotoxin: Autophagy as a Double-Edged Sword for the Host

Carla Fiorentini and Walter Malorni

volume 2 | issue 4

October/November/December 2006
Pages: 310 - 311

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Cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 is a bacterial protein toxin from Escherichia coli that is able to activate the Rho GTPases and to hinder apoptosis and mitotic catastrophe. Upon exposure to toxin, cells undergo a complex framework of changes, including cytoskeleton remodeling and multinucleation. These cells also show a high survival rate for long periods of time and improve both their macropinocytotic scavenging activities and microautophagy. Only at the very end, probably when “feeding” materials are exhausted, they do these cells die by autophagy. Taking into account the complex role of bacterial protein toxins in the infectious processes, we indicate the CNF1 activity as a Janus-faced paradigm of those bacteria that hijack cell fate to their own benefit. This could somehow be linked to the hypothesized connection between certain bacterial toxins and cancer onset.

Addendum to:
Is the Rac GTPase-Activating Toxin CNF1 a Smart Hijacker of Host Cell Fate?
W. Malorni and C. Fiorentini
FASEB J 2006; 20:606-9

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We now provide open access to journal articles published online for one year or more. This article may be downloaded at the following link:
 Download PDF

If the document does not open, please right-click on the link (control-click on a Macintosh) and select the option to save the file to disk.