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Updated: May 27, 2026

Monitoring eIF4F Assembly by Measuring eIF4E-eIF4G Interaction in Live Cells
Published on: May 1, 2020
A Burkholderia pseudomallei toxin inhibits helicase activity of translation factor eIF4A
Abimael Cruz-Migoni1, Guillaume M Hautbergue, Peter J Artymiuk
1Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
Abstract:
The structure of BPSL1549, a protein of unknown function from Burkholderia pseudomallei, reveals a similarity to Escherichia coli cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1. We found that BPSL1549 acted as a potent cytotoxin against eukaryotic cells and was lethal when administered to mice. Expression levels of bpsl1549 correlate with conditions expected to promote or suppress pathogenicity. BPSL1549 promotes deamidation of glutamine-339 of the translation initiation factor eIF4A, abolishing its helicase activity and inhibiting translation. We propose to name BPSL1549 Burkholderia lethal factor 1.
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