Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin forms large conductance, voltage-gated ion channels when incorporated into planar lipid bilayers.

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin is a member of the bacterial RTX (repeats in toxin) toxin family, produced by a diverse group of Gram-negative pathogens. Members of this group of toxins, although similar in sequence, differ in target cell specificity with Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin demonstrating a unique species- and cell-type specificity. Purified A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin added to pre-formed POPE/POPS lipid bilayers showed no spontaneous incorporation (to concentrations of 250 ng/ml). Reproducible channel activity was seen when the bilayer was reformed from lipid monolayers in the presence of toxin (50 ng/ml) in one of the aqueous chambers. Control experiments with heat-inactivated toxin did not display channel activity under the same experimental conditions. The channel behavior showed a complex pattern of multiple conductance levels of 118, 262 and 406 pS in solutions containing 0.140 M NaCl. The first two states showed voltage-dependent channel gating with approximately equal but opposite apparent gating charges of 1.4 electrons. A model accounting for the multiple conducting states and gating properties is presented.