The chymotrypsin-sensitive site, FFD315, in anthrax toxin protective antigen is required for translocation of lethal factor.

The protective antigen (PA) component of anthrax toxin contains two sites that are uniquely sensitive to proteolytic cleavage. Cleavage at the sequence RKKR167 by the cellular protease furin is absolutely required for toxicity, whereas cleavage by chymotrypsin or thermolysin at the sequence FFD315 inactivates the protein, apparently by blocking the ability of PA to translocate the catalytic moieties of the toxins, lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF), to the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. To specify the role of the chymotrypsin-sensitive site of PA in the translocation of LF, we altered residues 313-315. None of the mutations in this region interfered with the ability of PA to bind to its cellular receptor, be cleaved by cell surface furin, and bind LF. Substitution of Ala for Asp315 or for both Phe313 and Phe314 reduced the ability of PA to intoxicate cells in the presence of LF by 3- and 7-fold, respectively. Substitution of Phe313 by Cys greatly reduced the rate of LF translocation and delayed toxicity. The rate at which the Cys-substituted PA killed cells was increased significantly by blocking the sulfhydryl group with iodoacetamide, suggesting that this added Cys interacts with cellular proteins and slows translocation of LF. Deletion of the 2 Phe rendered PA completely non-toxic. This deleted PA protein lacked the ability shown by native PA to form oligomers on cells and in solution and to induce release of 86Rb from Chinese hamster ovary cells. These results suggest that the chymotrypsin-sensitive site in PA is required for membrane channel formation and translocation of LF into the cytosol. PA double mutants were constructed that cannot be cleaved at either the furin or chymotrypsin sites. These PA proteins were more stable in Bacillus anthracis culture supernatants and may therefore be useful as a replacement for PA in anthrax vaccines.