Kurzfassung

S. aureus is one of the most important causes of infectious diseases in both, hospitalized individuals or outpatients. The vast majority of clinical isolates secretes large amounts of the small membrane pore-forming alpha-toxin, alias alpha-hemolysin, which serves as an important virulence factor of this organism. Therefore, the identification in 2010, of ADAM10 as its high affinity receptor held great promise for developing new therapeutic approaches. Ten years on however, despite the...S. aureus is one of the most important causes of infectious diseases in both, hospitalized individuals or outpatients. The vast majority of clinical isolates secretes large amounts of the small membrane pore-forming alpha-toxin, alias alpha-hemolysin, which serves as an important virulence factor of this organism. Therefore, the identification in 2010, of ADAM10 as its high affinity receptor held great promise for developing new therapeutic approaches. Ten years on however, despite the availability of high-resolution structures of the ADAM10 ecto-domain, and of alpha-toxin-monomer and -heptamer, the molecular details of alpha-toxin binding to target cells remain elusive. Meanwhile, we have delineated domains required for efficient alpha-toxin binding and action; building on this information, we now seek a novel agent against alpha-toxin.» weiterlesen» einklappen