The cell cycle G 2 /M specific inhibitor cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is composed of CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC coded on the cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC genes that are tandem on the chromosomal cdt locus. A. actinomycetemcomitans CdtA has the lipid binding consensus domain, the so-called "lipobox", at the N-terminal signal sequence. Using Escherichia coli carrying plasmid pTK3022, we show that the 16th residue, cysteine, of CdtA bound Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a cell cycle G 2 /M-specific inhibitor produced by several pathogenic bacteria including Campylobacter spp. (16,38), Escherichia coli (17,27,28,32), Shigella dysenteriae (25), Haemophilus ducreyi (6, 9), Helicobacter hepaticus (4, 40), Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (13), and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (20,36,37). CDTpoisoned eukaryotic cells show cell cycle arrest and subsequent cellular distension followed by cell death (16,17,23,27,29). Except for S. enterica serovar Typhi, CDT is coded on the cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC genes that are located in tandem at the chromosomal cdt locus; and the expression of the three components CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC is necessary for full toxicity (2,19,30,35). CDT is suggested to be a unique tripartite AB toxin in which CdtB is the active A subunit, and CdtA and CdtC constitute the heterodimeric B subunit. Recently, the crystal structure of H. ducreyi CDT confirms this structure (21). The structure CDT holotoxin consists of CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC forming a ternary complex in a 1:1:1 stoichiometry. CdtA and CdtC form ricin-like lectin domains that may play a role in recognizing the cellular receptor that delivers the CdtB subunit into the target cells. CdtB shares conserved residues with the active sites of phosphodiesterase, DNase I and sphingomyelinase, and is structurally similar to the DNase I fold. Despite the absence of direct evidence that CdtB acts as DNase on chromosomal DNA in vivo, accumulating circumstantial evidence indicates that CdtB induces DNA damage inside the target nucleus (11,18). DNA damage by CdtB may activate the checkpoint control, phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase protein ataxia telangiectasia mutated, that is responsible for activating the phosphorylation of the downstream checkpoint protein kinase Chk2 (1,8). Activated Chk2 phosphorylates the phosphatase, Cdc25, and promotes its binding to the 14-3-3 protein and subsequent sequestration in the cytoplasm (5, 10). Cdc25C is then unable to dephosphorylate and activate the nuclear complex Cdk1-cyclin B which is the universal mitosis inducer in eukaryotes (7,12,33). Consequently, Cdk1 is maintained in the inactive tyrosine-phosphorylated state, and the cells exposed to CDT remain arrested in the G 2 phase of the cell cycle (29).In spite of the accumulation of knowledge on the effect of CDT on target cells, less information is available on biogenesis of CDT holotoxin. A. actinomycetemcomitans CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC are translated as approximately 25-, 32-, and 21-kDa proteins, respectively, and are presumably e...