Characterization of the deoxyribonuclease and ADP-ribosyltransferase activities of CRM45, a truncated homologue of diphtheria toxin.

CRM45 is a mutant form of diphtheria toxin (DTx) that lacks a 17-kDa carboxyl-terminal segment of the receptor-binding B subunit (DTB). The missing segment is a discrete structural domain of DTB that normally rests against the NAD binding pocket of the enzymically-active A subunit (DTA). Proteolytic cleavage and disulfide bridge reduction in the DTA-DTB linker region of DTx are required for optimal ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2 (EF-2). Here, we show that cleaved and uncleaved preparations of X-ray crystal grade CRM45 both exhibit an ADP-ribosyltransferase activity similar to that of cleaved DTx. Crystal-grade preparations of CRM45 also display a potent deoxyribonuclease activity. However, as observed with DTx, cleavage and reduction of CRM45 are not required for expression of this nuclease activity. After SDS-PAGE in a gel that contains DNA embedded in the matrix, renaturable Ca++/Mg(++)-dependent nuclease-active bands co-migrate with intact CRM45 (45 kDa) as well as with the DTA subunit (24 kDa) of CRM45. Because the 45-kDa nuclease-active band is unique to the CRM45 form of DTx, it offers direct proof that this activity is intrinsic to the DTA domain of DTx and its homologues.