Pseudomonas exotoxin contains a specific sequence at the carboxyl terminus that is required for cytotoxicity

Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), a single-chain polypeptide toxin of 613 amino acids, consists of three functional domains: an amino-terminal receptor-binding domain, a middle translocation domain, and a carboxyl-terminal ADP-ribosylation domain. Deletion of as few as 2 or as many as 11 amino acids from the carboxyl terminus of PE does not affect ADP-ribosylation activity but produces noncytotoxic molecules. Deletions and substitutions between positions 602 and 611 of PE show that the last 5 amino acids of PE are very important for its cytotoxic action. The carboxyl-terminal sequence of PE is Arg-Glu-Asp-Leu-Lys. Mutational analysis indicates that a basic amino acid at 609, acidic amino acids at 610 and 611, and a leucine at 612 are required for full cytotoxic activity. Lysine at 613 can be deleted or replaced with arginine but not with several other amino acids. Mutant toxins are able to bind normally to target Swiss mouse 3T3 cells and are internalized by endocytosis, but apparently they do not penetrate into the cytosol. A PE molecule that ends with Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu, which is a well defined endoplasmic reticulum retention sequence [Munro, S. and Pelham, R. B. (1987) Cell 48, 899-907], is fully cytotoxic, suggesting that a common factor may be involved in intoxication of cells by PE and retention of proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Sequences similar to those at the carboxyl end of PE are also found at the end of Cholera toxin A chain and Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin A chain.