Type: | Domain | Name: | Protective antigen, heptamerisation domain |
Description: | Protective antigen (PA) is the central component of the three-part protein toxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, the organism responsible for anthrax. Homologues of PA have been found in several spore-forming Gram-positive bacteria, and share the ability to translocate toxic enzymes into the host cytosol.The PA monomer is organised mainly into antiparallel beta-sheets and has four domains: an N-terminal domain (domain 1) containing two calcium ions and the cleavage site for activating proteases; a heptamerisation domain (domain 2) containing a large flexible loop implicated in membrane insertion; a small domain of unknown function (domain 3); and a carboxy-terminal receptor-binding domain (domain 4) []. This entry represents domain 2 of PA. | Short Name: | PA_heptamer_dom |