Analysis of receptor-binding site in Escherichia coli enterotoxin

Heat-labile enterotoxin produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and cholera enterotoxin are both composed of A and B subunits. The A subunit is an enzymatically active ADP-ribosylating subunit, while the B subunit, consisting of 103 amino acids, binds the toxin to a receptor, GM1-ganglioside, on the cell surface. A mutant isolated after treatment of E. coli producing heat-labile enterotoxin with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine produces a B subunit that is unable to bind to ganglioside. This subunit was purified and its primary amino acid sequence was determined. It differed from the native B subunit in only one amino acid at position 33; namely it had aspartate instead of glycine at position 33 from the N terminus. Thus glycine at position 33 from the N terminus of the B subunit is important for binding the B subunit to the ganglioside receptor.