Biography

My research program is focused on the cell biology of intoxication with AB-type protein toxins such as cholera toxin, Shiga toxin, and ricin.  These toxins are originally present in the extracellular milieu, but they attack targets within the cytosol of the host cell.  The toxins must therefore cross a membrane barrier in order to function.  A long-term goal of my laboratory is to elucidate the cellular events that allow toxin translocation, or entry, into the host cell cytosol.  If this process is understood at the molecular level, then rational therapies can be devised to block toxin translocation and, thus, productive intoxication.

Recent Publications

1. Cherubin P, Fidler D, Quiñones B, and Teter K.  2019.  Bimodal Response to Stx2 Subtypes Results from Relatively Weak Binding to the Target Cell.  Infect Immun  87(12). pii: e00428-19
2. Guyette J, Evangelista B, Tatulian SA, and Teter K.  2019.  Stability and Conformational Resilience of Protein Disulfide Isomerase.  Biochemistry  58(34):3572-3584
3. Guyette J, Cherubin P, Serrano A, Taylor M, Abedin F, O’Donnell M, Burress H, Tatulian SA, and Teter K. 2019.  Quercetin-3-Rutinoside Blocks the Disassembly of Cholera Toxin by Protein Disulfide Isomerase.  Toxins  11(8). pii: E458
4. Teter K.  2019.  Intracellular Trafficking and Translocation of Pertussis Toxin.  Toxins  11(8). pii: E437
5. Kellner A, Taylor M, Banerjee T, Britt CBT, and Teter K.  2019.  A Binding Motif for Hsp90 in the A Chains of ADP-ribosylating Toxins that Move from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to the Cytosol.  Cell Micro 21(10):e13074
6. Burress H, Kellner A, Guyette J, Tatulian SA, and Teter K.  2019.  HSC70 and HSP90 Chaperones Perform Complementary Roles in Translocation of the Cholera Toxin A1 Subunit from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to the Cytosol.  J Biol Chem  294(32):12122-12131
7. Cherubin P, Guyette J, Taylor M, O’Donnell M, Herndon L, Burress H, Riad A, Tatulian SA, and Teter K.  2018.  Protein Disulfide Isomerase Does Not Act as an Unfoldase in the Disassembly of Cholera Toxin.  Biosci Rep 38:BSR20181320
8. Cherubin P, Quiñones B, and Teter K.  2018.  Cellular Recovery from Exposure to Sub-optimal Concentrations of AB Toxins that Inhibit Protein Synthesis.  Sci Reports  8(1):2494
9. Goldblatt G, Cilenti L, Matos JO, Lee B, Ciaffone N, Wang QX, Tetard L, Teter K, and Tatulian SA.  2017. Unmodified and Pyroglutamylated Amyloid β Peptides Form Hypertoxic Hetero-Oligomers of Unique Secondary Structure.  FEBS J 284(9):1355-1369
10. Cherubin P, Quiñones B, Elkahoui S, Yokoyama W, and Teter K.  2017.  A Cell-Based Fluorescent Assay to Detect the Activity of AB Toxins That Inhibit Protein Synthesis.  Methods Mol Biol 1600:25-36.
11. Cherubin P, Garcia MC, Curtis D, Britt CBT, Craft JW, Burress H, Berndt C, Reddy S, Guyette J, Zheng T, Huo Q, Quinones B, Briggs JM, and Teter K.  2016.  Inhibition of Cholera Toxin and Other AB Toxins by Phenolic Compounds.  PLoS ONE 11(11):e0166477.
12. Banerjee T, Cilenti L, Taylor T, Showman A, Tatulian SA, and Teter K.  2016.  Thermal Unfolding of the Pertussis Toxin S1 Subunit Facilitates Toxin Translocation to the Cytosol by the Mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation.  Infect Immun 84(12):3388-3398.
13. Plaut RD, Scanlon KM, Taylor M, Teter K, and Carbonetti NH.  2016.  Intracellular Disassembly and Activity of Pertussis Toxin Require Interaction with ATP.  Pathogens and Disease 74(6).
14. Zheng T, Cherubin P, Cilenti L, Teter K, and Huo Q.  2016.  A Simple and Fast Method to Study the Hydrodynamic Size Difference of Protein Disulfide Isomerase in Oxidized and Reduced Form using Gold Nanoparticles and Dynamic Light Scattering.  Analyst 141(3):934-938.
15. Taylor M, Curtis D, and Teter K.  2015.  A Conformational Shift in the Dissociated Cholera Toxin A1 Subunit Prevents Reassembly of the Cholera Holotoxin.  Toxins 7:2674-2684. doi:10.3390/toxins7072674

Note: Students under my supervision are highlighted in red (graduate student), blue (UCF undergraduate), or green (high school student).

Teaching Publications

1. Moore, SD and Teter K.  2014.  Group-Effort Applied Research (GEAR):  Expanding Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Through Original, Class-Based Research Projects.  Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.  42(4):331-338
2. Borgon RA, Verity N, and Teter K.  2013.  PILOTing Undergraduate Students to Hands-On Teaching and Research Skills.  Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education  14(1):35-46.
3. Teter K and Engelking H.  2009.  A Career Opportunities in the Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series.  Focus on Microbiology Education  15(3):6-7.