Membrane depolarization prevents cell invasion by Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin.

Adenylate cyclase toxin from Bordetella pertussis is a 177-kDa calmodulin-activated enzyme that has the ability to enter eukaryotic cells and convert endogenous ATP into cAMP. Little is known, however, about the mechanism of cell entry. We now demonstrate that intoxication of cardiac myocytes by adenylate cyclase toxin is driven and controlled by the electrical potential across the plasma membrane. The steepness of the voltage dependence of intoxication is comparable with that previously observed for the activation of K+ and Na+ channels of excitable membranes. The voltage-sensitive process is downstream from toxin binding to the cell surface and appears to correspond to the translocation of the catalytic domain across the membrane.