Bacterial protein toxins inhibiting low-molecular-mass GTP-binding proteins.

The Rho GTPases, which belong to the Ras superfamily of low-molecular-mass GTP-binding proteins, are the preferred intracellular targets of bacterial protein toxins. The Rho GTPases RhoA/B/C, Rac1/2 and Cdc42 are the master regulators of the actin cytoskeleton. Clostridium difficile toxins A and B, the causative agents of the antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis, are intracellularly acting cytotoxins which mono-glucosylate the Rho GTPases. Clostridium botulinum C3 toxin, which is not related to the clostridial neurotoxins, catalyses ADP-ribosylation of RhoA/B/C but not of other Rho GTPases. Glucosylation as well as ADP-ribosylation result in functional inactivation of Rho causing disassembly of the actin cytoskeleton.