This entry describes the CofJ protein family. CofJ is a soluble protein secreted via the CFA/III apparatus in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), which colonize the human gut causing severe diarrhoea. CofJ is a single-domain protein of 326 resid ...
This entry describes the CofJ protein family. CofJ is a soluble protein secreted via the CFA/III apparatus in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), which colonize the human gut causing severe diarrhoea. CofJ is a single-domain protein of 326 residues, comprised of an elongated beta-sandwich core with three alpha-helices, four 3-10 helices and multiple loops on its surface. The protein has a cluster of exposed hydrophobic side-chains at one end and structural homology to the pore-forming proteins perfringolysin O and alpha-haemolysin. The crystal structure of CofJ was determined, revealing a large beta-sandwich protein that bears no sequence or structural homology to TcpF, a protein encoded by the syntenic gene in the TCP operon of Vibrio cholerae. CofJ binds to lipid vesicles and epithelial cells, suggesting a role in membrane attachment during ETEC colonization.