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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 2008, p. 220-224, Vol. 52, No. 1
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.01009-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Bile and Unsaturated Fatty Acids Inhibit the Binding of Cholera Toxin and Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Enterotoxin to GM1 Receptor
Arpita Chatterjee and
Rukhsana Chowdhury*
Biophysics Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Calcutta 700 032, India
Received 1 August 2007/
Returned for modification 28 August 2007/
Accepted 9 October 2007

ABSTRACT
Cholera toxin (CT) is an archetypal bacterial toxin that binds
with a high affinity to the receptor ganglioside GM1 on the
intestinal epithelial surface and that causes the severe watery
diarrhea characteristic of the disease cholera. Blockage of
the interaction of CT with the GM1 receptor is an attractive
approach for therapeutic intervention. We report here that crude
bile prevents the interaction of CT with GM1 and reduces CT-mediated
fluid accumulation in the rabbit intestine. The unsaturated
fatty acids detected in crude bile, arachidonic, linoleic, and
oleic acids, were found to be the most effective. Crude bile
and the unsaturated fatty acids interacted with CT but not GM1
to prevent CT-GM1 binding. Neither crude bile nor the unsaturated
fatty acids had any effect on the subunit structure of CT. The
binding of CT to unsaturated fatty acids resulted in a shift
of the apparent pI of CT from 6.8 to 8.2 and a marked decrease
in intrinsic fluorescence. The
Kd was calculated from fluorescence
quenching assays. It was demonstrated by the rabbit ileal loop
model that practically no fluid accumulated in the intestinal
loops when CT was administered together with inhibitory concentrations
of linoleic acid. The bile present in the intestine was sufficient
to inhibit the activity of up to 300 ng CT. Bile and unsaturated
fatty acids also inhibited the binding of
Escherichia coli heat-labile
enterotoxin (LT) to GM1, and no fluid accumulation was observed
in rabbit ileal loops when LT was administered together with
linoleic acid.

INTRODUCTION
Infectious diarrheal diseases are a major cause of human mortality,
especially in developing countries, where conditions of inadequate
sanitation, a lack of safe drinking water, malnourishment, war,
and famine contribute to regular episodes of cholera, dysentery,
traveler's diarrhea, and other forms of enteric disease, which
claim nearly 2 million lives a year (
10). Many enteric pathogens,
including
Vibrio cholerae,
Escherichia coli, and
Shigella spp.,
release toxins that are the primary cause of disease. The archetypal
bacterial toxins are the cholera toxin (CT) and heat-labile
enterotoxin (LT), derived from
V. cholerae and enterotoxigenic
E. coli (ETEC), respectively. Both CT and LT exploit binding
to the cell surface glycolipid ganglioside GM1 as a means of
entering intestinal epithelial cells (
8). These toxins have
a common heterohexameric structure consisting of a single A
subunit attached to a pentameric core of five B subunits. The
A subunit possesses ADP ribosyltransferase activity, and the
B subunits selectively bind to the oligosaccharide portion of
the ganglioside GM1. The biological action of CT and LT is initiated
by the binding of the B subunits to the receptor, ganglioside
GM1, on the intestinal epithelial cell membrane, followed by
internalization of the A subunit into the cell (
6,
7). The consequence
of this activity is the impaired absorption of sodium ions and
the rapid loss of water from the cells, resulting in the copious
"rice water" diarrhea characteristic of the disease. The CT
B subunit (CTB) and the LT B subunit (LTB) share 80% sequence
identity (
4) and are closely related immunologically.
Oral rehydration salt solution in combination with antibiotics is generally recommended for the treatment of diarrheal diseases of bacterial origin (2). However, in view of the rapid emergence of multiple-antibiotic-resistant strains of both V. cholerae and E. coli all over the world (1, 16), it is believed that the development of new pharmacological agents that inactivate the toxins and suppress the diarrhea would be advantageous. Since the binding of CT and LT to the GM1 receptor is the critical step in translocating the toxin into epithelial cells and the consequent fluid loss from the cells (8), the blockage of the GM1 binding of CT and LT with other ligands is an attractive approach for a therapeutic intervention that would prevent the action of the toxins. We report here that crude bile inhibits the GM1 binding of CT and LT. The active components present in crude bile were identified as unsaturated fatty acids, which can bind to CT and LT with a high affinity. The unsaturated fatty acids also prevent fluid accumulation in the intestine when they are administered with the toxins.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Materials.
CT, CTB, GM1, crude ox bile, bile salts, and fatty acids were
purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. LT-containing cell lysates were
prepared as follows:
E. coli strain 12566 was grown for 16 h;
and the cells were centrifuged, washed and suspended in phosphate-buffered
saline (PBS), and sonicated. The samples were centrifuged again
to remove the debris, and the supernatant was used in a GM1
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or rabbit ligated
ileal loops to examine the effect of bile or unsaturated fatty
acids on LT.
Estimation of CT and LT by GM1 ELISA.
Samples containing 50 ng CT-, 50 ng CTB-, or 90 µl LT-containing cell lysates were incubated without or with different concentrations of ligand in a total volume of 100 µl for 15 min at room temperature. The samples were serially diluted and added to microtiter plates containing immobilized GM1. ELISA was performed as described previously (13) by using polyclonal rabbit serum raised against pure CT as the primary antibody, since it has been reported that anti-CT sera can effectively react with LT (9).
IC50 determination.
CT and CTB (500 ng/ml) were incubated with increasing concentrations of each ligand for 15 min at room temperature, and a GM1 ELISA was performed as described previously (13). The concentration of ligand required for 50% inhibition of CT binding to GM1 (IC50) was determined. The IC50 values were calculated from duplicate sets of data for at least 10 different concentrations of antagonists. The values reported are the averages of at least three independent determinations.
Immunoprecipitation.
CT or CTB (5 µg) was incubated without or with 3% bile or 85 mM sodium linolate in PBS (50 µl volume) at room temperature for 15 min, anti-CT immunoglobulin G (1:10 dilution) was added to each sample, and each sample was further incubated at 4°C for 3 h. Finally, 50 µl of swollen protein A-agarose beads (a 100-µl slurry in 500 µl PBS) was added, and the mixture was incubated overnight at 4°C with mild shaking. The immunoprecipitated complexes were collected by centrifugation (3,000 rpm, 5 min) at 4°C, washed, and suspended in Laemmli sample buffer (35 µl); and the suspension was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-12% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE).
Fluorescence spectroscopy.
The emission spectrum of CT (15 µg) was recorded with a Perkin-Elmer luminescence spectrometer. Excitation was at a wavelength of 282 nm, emission was monitored at wavelengths between 300 and 400 nm, and a band pass of 5 nm was used. To estimate CT-fatty acid binding, the relative decrease in the intrinsic fluorescence of CT upon addition of increasing amounts of fatty acids was monitored at approximately 10-min intervals. The quenching of the fluorescence occurred rapidly and was stable for at least 30 min. Corrections were made for the inner filter effect for the ligand.
Isoelectric focusing.
Isoelectric focusing of CT (6 µg) and CT complexed with 100 mM linoleic acid was performed by using a Bio-Rad Protean isoelectric focusing cell and 17-cm linear (pH 3 to 10) immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips (Bio-Rad). The samples were loaded onto the IPG strips by using the rehydration loading protocol, and isoelectric focusing was performed as recommended by the manufacturer. The IPG strips were stained with Coomassie blue to visualize the proteins.
Ligated rabbit ileal loop assay.
The in vivo effect of linoleic acid on CT and LT was examined by using the ligated rabbit ileal loop model, essentially as described by De and Chatterjee (5). Briefly, the rabbits were starved overnight but had free access to water, and they were then anesthetized. The small intestine was exteriorized through a midline incision and tied into consecutive 7-cm segments proximally to the mesoappendix. CT in 500 µl PBS or 750 µl LT containing ETEC cell lysates was injected alone or with different concentrations of linoleic acid into the rabbit ileal loops. After 16 h the animals were killed and the fluid that had accumulated in each loop was collected separately, measured, and expressed as a ratio of the amount (ml) of fluid per unit length (cm) of loop.

RESULTS
CT cannot be detected by GM1 ELISA in the presence of crude bile.
Since ganglioside GM1 is the receptor for CT, the binding of
CT to GM1 immobilized on microtiter plates is widely used as
an assay (the GM1 ELISA) for CT. Surprisingly, we observed that
in the presence of crude bile, CT could not be detected by the
GM1 ELISA. To examine whether the inhibition of CT-GM1 binding
in the presence of crude bile was due to the interaction of
bile with GM1 or CT, GM1 immobilized on microtiter plates was
incubated with crude bile (0.2%), washed, and then incubated
with CT. The results obtained clearly show that prior incubation
of GM1 with crude bile had no effect on the subsequent binding
of CT to GM1 (Fig.
1). However, when CT was incubated with crude
bile before it was loaded on GM1, no CT was detected with a
concentration of 0.05% bile or greater (Fig.
1). Taken together,
these results suggest that crude bile interacts with CT and
not GM1 to prevent CT-GM1 binding. The effect of bile on CT-GM1
binding was insensitive to the presence of up to 2 M NaCl and
changes in pH in the range of 6.5 to 8.2 (data not shown).
Bile does not block the binding of primary antibody to CT.
We also considered the possibility that bile blocks the anti-CT
antibody binding sites on CT, so that CT was no longer detectable
by GM1 ELISA in the presence of crude bile. To address this
possibility, we examined if CT incubated with bile could be
immunoprecipitated with anti-CT antibodies. CT (5 µg)
and CT incubated with excess crude bile (3%) were immunoprecipitated
with anti-CT antiserum, and the precipitate was analyzed by
sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE. The results obtained indicated
that comparable amounts of CT were precipitated by anti-CT antisera,
irrespective of whether the CT was preincubated with bile or
not, suggesting that the bile did not block the anti-CT antibody
binding sites on CT (Fig.
2).
Bile has no effect on the subunit structure of CT.
The major components of crude bile, cholate and deoxycholate,
have detergent-like properties. To examine if crude bile affects
the subunit structure of CT (AB
5), the holotoxin and the pentameric
B subunit were incubated with bile and electrophoresed on native
polyacrylamide gels. A single

87-kDa band, which is the expected
size of the CT holotoxin, was observed when CT treated with
crude bile or not treated with crude bile was analyzed by native
PAGE. CTB also gave a single band of about 60 kDa, the expected
size of the B-subunit pentamer, even when it was incubated with
bile (Fig.
3). Thus, crude bile does not dissociate the quaternary
structure of CT or CTB. When CT was heat denatured, bands corresponding
to about 27 kDa (A subunit) and 12 kDa (B subunit) were observed.
Identification of active bile components and IC50 determination.
Crude bile is a heterogeneous mixture, and we have previously
reported on a fractionation method that separates the components
of crude bile (
3). Conjugated and unconjugated bile salts were
identified as the major components of crude bile, and cholesterol
and fatty acids were identified as minor components of crude
bile. The GM1 ELISA with the different fractions indicated that
the fraction containing the fatty acids was the most effective
in preventing the binding of CT to GM1 (data not shown). This
fraction contained the saturated fatty acids palmitic and stearic
acids and the unsaturated fatty acids linoleic, oleic, and arachidonic
acids (
3). The IC
50s of the fatty acids were determined, and
the unsaturated fatty acids were found to be the most effective
in preventing the binding of CT to GM1, with IC
50 values being
about 10-fold lower than those of the saturated fatty acids.
The IC
50s were as follows: linoleic acid, 0.41 mM; oleic acid,
0.41 mM; arachidonic acid, 0.38 mM; palmitic acid, 5.8 mM; stearic
acid, 5.27 mM. Subsequent experiments were therefore performed
with linoleic acid at the inhibitory concentration. As has been
demonstrated for crude bile, linoleic acid did not affect the
quaternary structure of CT and preincubation of CT with linoleic
acid did not block the anti-CT antibody binding sites on CT
(data not shown).
Isoelectric focusing.
Two methods were employed to directly evaluate the interaction of linoleic acid with CT: isoelectric focusing and quenching of intrinsic fluorescence. It has been demonstrated previously that protein-ligand binding might change the apparent pI of the protein, probably as a result of a surface charge redistribution upon ligand binding (17). As has been reported previously (11), the pI of CT was determined to be 6.8 by isoelectric focusing on IPG strips (pH 3 to 10). A remarkable shift in the apparent pI of CT to 8.2 was observed when CT was incubated with linoleic acid prior to isoelectric focusing (Fig. 4).
Fluorescence spectroscopy and determination of Kd.
To analyze the binding of linoleic acid to CT in greater detail,
the emission spectrum of CT was recorded in the presence and
absence of linoleic acid. Linoleic acid produced a marked decrease
in the fluorescence intensity of CT, with a moderate blue shift
in the emission spectrum (Fig.
5A). In order to estimate the
dissociation constant of CT-linoleic acid binding, the quenching
of the intrinsic fluorescence of pure CT upon addition of increasing
amounts of sodium linolate was measured. The decrease in intrinsic
fluorescence of CT following linolate binding was used to quantitate
the CT-fatty acid binding affinity. After correction for the
inner filter effect, the apparent
Kd was determined to be 0.13
mM (Fig.
5B). Similarly, the
Kds of oleic acid and arachidonic
acid binding to CT were determined to be 0.16 mM and 0.18 mM,
respectively. Thus, the affinities of binding of all three unsaturated
fatty acids to CT were comparable.
In vivo assay.
Since the major biological function of CT is to promote the
loss of fluid from epithelial cells, we used the ligated rabbit
ileal loop model to examine intestinal fluid accumulation when
CT was administered in the ileal loops with or without linoleic
acid. Fluid accumulation was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner
when sodium linolate was administered with CT (Fig.
6). Although
about 1.6 ± 0.2 ml/cm fluid accumulated in ileal loops
inoculated with 500 ng CT, the amount was reduced to 0.76 ml/cm
when CT was administered together with 1.65 mM linoleic acid.
Practically no fluid accumulation was observed in loops containing
3.3 mM linoleic acid. Interestingly, it was noted that no fluid
accumulated in loops inoculated with up to 300 ng CT, suggesting
that the crude bile present in the intestine might be sufficient
to completely inhibit the activity of up to 300 ng CT.
Unsaturated fatty acids inhibit LT-GM1 binding.
Since, like CT, the closely related
E. coli LT also utilizes
GM1 as the natural cell surface receptor, the effect of crude
bile on the interaction of LT with GM1 was examined. Sonicated
cell lysates of ETEC strain 12566 were used as a source of LT.
The LT in the cell lysates could be detected by the GM1 ELISA;
however, upon preincubation of the lysates with crude bile (0.2%),
LT could no longer be detected by the GM1 ELISA (data not shown).
Of the bile components examined, unsaturated fatty acids were
found to be the most effective in preventing the LT-GM1 interaction.
The effect of linoleic acid on LT in vivo was examined by using
the rabbit ligated ileal loop model. About 5.5 ± 1 ml
fluid accumulated in the ileal loops when 750 µl of crude
E. coli cell lysate was administered into 7-cm segments of ileum.
Practically no fluid accumulation was observed when the same
amount of
E. coli lysate was preincubated with 21 mM sodium
linolate, while 1 ml of fluid accumulation was observed when
the lysate was incubated with 10.5 mM sodium linolate (Fig.
7). Upon comparison with the results obtained with CT, the results
of these experiments indicated that the effect of linoleic acid
on LT was less pronounced than that on CT.

DISCUSSION
Bile is a major constituent of the small intestine which is
secreted into the lumen of the duodenum from the gallbladder
through the bile duct and which is inevitably encountered by
all enteric bacteria during infection. We have recently shown
that in addition to the major components, which were conjugated
and unconjugated bile salts and bile pigments, crude bile also
contains fatty acids and cholesterol as minor components (
3).
In this paper we report that the unsaturated fatty acids present
in crude bile can bind to CT and the closely related LT and
can prevent the interaction of these toxins with the intestinal
receptor GM1, a critical step in the translocation of the toxins
into the intestinal epithelial cells and the resultant severe
fluid loss that is characteristic of the diseases caused by
these toxins. It seems paradoxical that bile should inhibit
the interaction of CT and LT with GM1, since bile is certainly
present in the intestine, the physiological site of action of
these toxins. A possible explanation is as follows. The growth
of
V. cholerae in rabbit ileal loops (7 cm long) produced about
10 µg CT in the loops (unpublished observation); the amount
of bile present in similar intestinal loops is sufficient to
inactivate only about 300 ng CT (Fig.
6). Although this may
be an underestimation, since starved rabbits were used in the
experiments and starvation is known to reduce the secretion
of bile into the duodenum, it still seems reasonable to assume
that the amount of bile present in the intestine may be insufficient
to prevent GM1 binding of the massive amounts of CT and LT produced
by
V. cholerae and ETEC during infection. Supplementation with
bile or unsaturated fatty acids drastically reduced the level
of fluid accumulation due to CT and also LT (Fig.
6 and
7).
Several compounds that inhibit GM1 binding of CT and LT have been identified earlier. Since galactose, the terminal sugar of GM1, is of primary importance in CT and LT binding (12), several galactose derivatives were screened to develop receptor antagonists, and m-nitrophenyl-
-galactoside (MNPG) was found to be the most effective; MNPG was about 100-fold more effective than galactose itself (14). Next-generation leads based on MNPG, 3,5-substituted phenylgalactosides, displayed efficacy two- to sixfold greater than that of MNPG (15). However, linoleic acid is 200-fold more effective than MNPG as a GM1-CT binding antagonist.
The data presented in this paper suggest the possibility that the oral administration of unsaturated fatty acids, preferably together with oral rehydration salt, could be used as a precautionary and therapeutic measure for cholera and, possibly, traveler's diarrhea. Unsaturated fatty acids are abundantly present in our daily diets: oils like walnut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and sunflower seed oil contain more than 50% linoleic acid, while evening primrose oil and safflower seed oil contain about 75% linoleic acid. Thus, small amounts of these oils might be sufficient to inactivate the CT and LT produced during infection. They are not toxic to humans; indeed, linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid. Thus, they might be used as drugs without the fear of toxic side effects. Moreover, since they act on secreted toxins and not on the bacteria, the possibility of bacterial resistance does not arise. Further studies with patients with cholera are necessary to confirm the efficacy of unsaturated fatty acids for the treatment of cholera.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank all members of the Biophysics Division for cooperation,
encouragement, and helpful discussions during the study and
I. Guha Thakurta, K. Paul, and P. Majumdar for excellent technical
support.
This work was supported by a research grant from the Network Program (grant SMM 003), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. A.C. is grateful to CSIR for a research fellowship.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biophysics Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Calcutta 700 032, India. Phone: 91 33 2473 6793. Fax: 91 33 2473 5197. E-mail:
rukhsana{at}iicb.res.in 
Published ahead of print on 22 October 2007. 

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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 2008, p. 220-224, Vol. 52, No. 1
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.01009-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.