Figures
Epithelial cell intoxicated by MakA cytotoxin and co-localized (yellow) with phosphatidic acid
The recently discovered Vibrio cholerae cytotoxin MakA was shown to be a modulator of autophagy and an apoptotic inducer in target cells. This scanning electron micrograph of an epithelial cell intoxicated by MakA demonstrates changes in cell morphology. The yellow pseudo-color indicates a co-localization cluster of MakA and phosphatidic acid in a filopodia rich structure of the cell. The red pseudo-color indicates association of MakA to the tubular structures. The MakA and phosphatidic acid interaction at the filopodia rich structures promoted macropinocytosis resulting in the formation of an endomembrane-rich aggregate in intoxicated cells that ultimately leads to activation of autophagy. Nadeem et al.
Image Credit: Nadeem A Vegesna G, 2021
Citation: (2021) PLoS Pathogens Issue Image | Vol. 17(3) March 2021. PLoS Pathog 17(3): ev17.i03. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.ppat.v17.i03
Published: March 31, 2021
Copyright: © 2021 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
The recently discovered Vibrio cholerae cytotoxin MakA was shown to be a modulator of autophagy and an apoptotic inducer in target cells. This scanning electron micrograph of an epithelial cell intoxicated by MakA demonstrates changes in cell morphology. The yellow pseudo-color indicates a co-localization cluster of MakA and phosphatidic acid in a filopodia rich structure of the cell. The red pseudo-color indicates association of MakA to the tubular structures. The MakA and phosphatidic acid interaction at the filopodia rich structures promoted macropinocytosis resulting in the formation of an endomembrane-rich aggregate in intoxicated cells that ultimately leads to activation of autophagy. Nadeem et al.
Image Credit: Nadeem A Vegesna G, 2021