Lipid rafts clustering and signalling by listeriolysin O

Listeriolysin O, the major virulent determinant of Listeria monocytogenes, is known for forming pores on cholesterol-rich membranes. In the present study, we reveal its other facet, rafts clustering. By immunofluorescence microscopy, we show that the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins CD14 and CD24, which normally exhibit uniform distribution on J774 cells, undergo clustering upon treatment with LLO. The non-raft marker transferrin receptor is unaffected by such treatment. Rafts clustering might explain the induction of tyrosine phosphorylation observed on LLO-treated cells.