Reduction of protein disulfide bonds in an oxidizing environment

Following retrograde transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) the A-subunit of cholera toxin (CTX-A) is partially cleaved into CTX-A1 and CTX-A2 by reduction of a disulfide bridge [Majoul et al. (1996) J. Cell Biol. 133, 777-789], although the redox state in the ER favors disulfide formation. We show here that the disulfide bridge of CTX-A is cleaved in vitro already at GSH/GSSG ratios between 1 and 3. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) exerts only a minor accelerating effect. Various mixed disulfide intermediates (CTX-A1-S-S-CTX-A1; PDI-S-S-A2; PDI-S-S-A1) appear during CTX-A reduction. These results indicate that in the ER protein disulfide formation and protein disulfide reduction can take place simultaneously.