Despite all the research done on Pertussis toxin secretion, it is still unknown how the toxin is secreted out of the bacterium. It is known that the toxin must be fully assembled before it is secreted, and all of the secretion complex components must be present, but that is where the understanding ends.
The identity of the secretion complex protiens for B. pertussis are known, but the exact function of each one and the method for pertussis toxin secretion is not. Only the complete A-B5 toxin is efficiently secreted, so there must be some recognition of this complex by some proteins of the secretion complex.
Hypothesis:
There must be specific proteins in the B. pertussis secretion complex that interact with the fully assembled pertussis toxin allowing it to move through the pore in the outer membrane, and the binding of ATP functions in some way to facilitate the secretion of pertussis toxin.
What happens to the rest of the secretion complex proteins after PtlC and PtlH bind ATP?
Which secretion protein interacts with pertussis toxin?