Yersinia enterocolitica outer protein T (YopT)

Pathogenic Yersinia strains evade the innate immune responses of the host by producing effector proteins (Yersinia outer proteins (Yops)), which are directly injected into mammalian cells by a type III secretion system (TTSS). One of these effector proteins (YopT) disrupts the actin cytoskeleton of the host cell. YopT is a cysteine protease which cleaves Rho proteins directly upstream of the post-translationally modified cysteine. Thereby, it releases the GTPases from the membrane leading to their inactivation. Besides a biochemical characterisation of the molecular mechanism and substrate specificity also delivery into host cells with chaperone binding and guidance to the injection apparatus and the patho-physiological role of YopT have been studied and are summarised in this review.