PLoS Pathog. 8:e1002803 2012/07/19

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a causative bacterium of food-borne illness, induces host cell death during infection. VepA, an effector secreted via the type III secretion system 1, is essential for the cell death, but the mechanism of action of VepA was unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that VepA targets one of the subunits of vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) using a yeast genome-wide screening system. We also found that VepA ruptures the lysosomes of host cells, where V-ATPases are highly expressed. Our findings suggest that a bacterial virulence factor targets lysosomes and induces subsequent cell death.