1.C.12.1.16
Vaginolysin (VLY) of 516 aas and 1 N-terminal TMS. It plays a role in bacterial vaginosis (BV), a vaginal anaerobic dysbiosis that affects women of reproductive age worldwide. BV is microbiologically characterized by the depletion of vaginal lactobacilli and the overgrowth of anaerobic bacterial species. Gardnerella spp. have a pivotal role among BV-associated bacteria in the initiation and development of BV (Pleckaityte 2019). Inerolysin (INY) (TC# 1.C.12.1.17)-induced damage of artificial membranes is directly dependent on the cholesterol concentration in the bilayer, whereas VLY-induced damage occurs only with high levels of membrane cholesterol (>40 mol%) (Ragaliauskas et al. 2019). VLY primarily forms membrane-embedded complete rings in the synthetic bilayer, whereas INY forms arciform structures with smaller pore sizes. VLY activity is high at elevated pH, which is characteristic of BV, whereas INY activity is high at more acidic pH, which is characteristic of a healthy vagina (Pleckaityte 2019).