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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Applying an Inducible Expression System to Study Interference of Bacterial Virulence Factors with Intracellular Signaling
Published on: June 25, 2015
Bacillus cereus cereolysin O induces pyroptosis in an undecapeptide-dependent manner
Yujian Wang1,2, Jingchang Luo1,2,3, Xiaolu Guan1,2,3
1CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, CAS Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China.
Abstract:
Bacillus cereus is a clinically significant foodborne pathogen that causes severe gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal disease. Cereolysin O (CLO) is a putative virulence factor of B. cereus, and its function remains to be investigated. In this study, we examined the biological activity of CLO from a deep sea B. cereus isolate. CLO was highly toxic to mammalian cells and triggered pyroptosis through NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated caspase 1 and gasdermin D activation. CLO-induced cell death involved ROS accumulation and K+ efflux, and was blocked by serum lipids. CLO bound specifically to cholesterol, and this binding was essential to CLO cytotoxicity. The structural integrity of the three tryptophan residues in the C-terminal undecapeptide was vital for CLO to interact with membrane lipids and cause membrane perforation. Taken together, these results provided new insights into the molecular mechanism of B. cereus CLO-mediated cytotoxicity.
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