The Pseudomonas exotoxin (or exotoxin A) is an

exotoxin An exotoxin is a toxin secreted by bacteria. An exotoxin can cause damage to the host by destroying cells or disrupting normal cellular metabolism. They are highly potent and can cause major damage to the host. Exotoxins may be secreted, or, simi ...

produced by ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerugi ...

''. ''

Vibrio cholerae ''Vibrio cholerae'' is a species of Gram-negative, facultative anaerobe and comma-shaped bacteria. The bacteria naturally live in brackish or saltwater where they attach themselves easily to the chitin-containing shells of crabs, shrimps, and oth ...

'' produces a similar protein called the Cholix toxin (). It inhibits

elongation factor-2 Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EEF2'' gene. It is the archaeal and eukaryotic counterpart of bacterial EF-G. This gene encodes a member of the Guanosine triphosphate, GTP-binding translation elongat ...

. It does so by ADP-ribosylation of EF2 using

NAD+ Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme central to metabolism. Found in all living cells, NAD is called a dinucleotide because it consists of two nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups. One nucleotide contains an aden ...

. This then causes the elongation of polypeptides to cease. This mechanism is similar to that of

diphtheria toxin Diphtheria toxin is an exotoxin secreted by '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae'', the pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. The toxin gene is encoded by a prophageA prophage is a virus that has inserted itself into the genome of the host ...

. It has been investigated as a treatment for

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. Fo ...

and cancer.

References

External links

*
P11439 (eta)
in InterPro domain view {{Toxins Bacterial toxins Proteins