Effects of Ethanol on Pore-forming Activity of Vibrio cholerae Cytolysin (VCC)

Abstract

Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) is a potent virulence factor and it disrupts the integrity of the cell membrane by forming β-barrel heptameric pores in it which lead to cell death. It shows membrane permeabilization on biomembrane as well as on artificial lipid membrane. Pore-forming activity of such virulence proteins can be inhibited by introducing some structural changes through mutations or using an external reagent. Currently, no inhibitor of VCC is known, which can block or interfere with its pore-forming activity. This project aims to explore whether ethanol can be used as an inhibitor of VCC or not. Pore-forming activity of VCC in presence of ethanol was checked against both artificial lipid membrane and membrane of human erythrocytes. Alteration caused in the structure of VCC in presence of ethanol was also reported.