Heat Stable Enterotoxin a (STa)

The mature STa protein from Escherichia coli, which is the cause of acute diarrhoea in infants and travellers in developing countries, is a 19-residue peptide containing three disulphide bridges that are functionally important. STa contains an N-terminal signal peptide composed of two domains, Pre and Pro, involved in extracellular toxin release, and a core enterotoxigenic domain. Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) was found to function as the principal receptor for heat-stable enterotoxins (STa), major causative factors in E. coli-induced secretory diarrhea. GC-C is enriched in intestinal epithelium, but was also detected in other epithelial tissues. The enzyme belongs to the family of receptor guanylyl cyclases, and consists of an extracellular receptor domain, a single transmembrane domain, a kinase homology domain, and a catalytic domain.