Characterization of Tigurilysin, a Novel Human CD59-Specific Cholesterol-Dependent Cytolysin, Reveals a Role for Host Specificity in Augmenting Toxin Activity.

Cholesterol dependent cytolysins (CDCs) are produced by a variety of disease-causing bacteria, and may play a significant role in pathogenesis. Understanding CDC mechanisms of action provides useful information for developing anti-virulence strategies against bacteria that utilize CDCs and other pore-forming toxins in pathogenesis. This study describes for the first time a novel human-specific CDC with an atypical pore forming mechanism compared to known CDCs. In addition, this study demonstrates that human-specificity potentially confers increased lytic efficiency to CDCs. These data provide a possible explanation for the selective advantage of developing hCD59-dependency in CDCs and the consequent host restriction.