Refined structures of three crystal forms of toxic shock syndrome toxin‐1 and of a tetramutant with reduced activity

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Abstract
The structure of toxic shock syndrome toxin‐1 (TSST‐1), the causative agent in toxic shock syndrome, has been determined in three crystal forms. The three structural models have been refined to R‐factors of 0.154, 0.150, and 0.198 at resolutions of 2.05 Å, 2.90 Å, and 2.75 Å, respectively. One crystal form of TSST‐1 contains a zinc ion bound between two symmetry‐related molecules. Although not required for biological activity, zinc dramatically potentiates the mito‐genicity of TSST‐1 at very low concentrations. In addition, the structure of the tetramutant TSST‐1H [T691, Y80W, E132K, I140T], which is nonmitogenic and does not amplify endotoxin shock, has been determined and refined in a fourth crystal form (R‐factor = 0.173 to 1.9 Å resolution).