Membrane binding and pore formation is Ca ²⁺ -dependent for the Clostridioides difficile binary toxin

The C. difficile binary toxin (CDT) enters host cells via endosomal delivery like many other ‘AB’-type binary toxins. In this study, the cell-binding component of CDT, termed CDTb, was found to bind and form pores in lipid bilayers upon depleting free Ca ²⁺ ion concentrations, and not by lowering pH, as found for other binary toxins (i.e., anthrax). Cryoelectron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, CDT toxicity studies, and site directed mutagenesis show that dissociation of Ca ²⁺ from a single site in receptor binding domain 1 (RBD1) of CDTb is consistent with a molecular mechanism in which Ca ²⁺ dissociation from RBD1 induces a “trigger” via conformational exchange that enables CDTb to bind and form pores in endosomal membrane bilayers as free Ca ²⁺ concentrations decrease during CDT endosomal delivery.