NCJ Number
191219
Journal
Emerging Infectious Diseases Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: April/June 1999 Pages: 224-234
Date Published
1999
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the synthesis and structure, mode of action and contribution to virulence of seven toxins; it reviews the role toxins have played in unraveling signal pathways in dividing cells; and it summarizes the beneficial uses of toxins.
Abstract
Since diphtheria toxin was isolated in 1888, microbial toxins have been recognized as the primary virulence factor(s) for a variety of pathogenic bacteria. They have been defined as "soluble substances that alter the normal metabolism of host cells with harmful effects on the host." Many bacterial exotoxins have the capacity to damage the extracellular matrix or the plasma membrane of eukaryotic (dividing) cells. One class of toxins intoxicates target cells by inhibiting protein synthesis, which ultimately results in the death of the target cell. Bacterial toxins also can target and alter the function of a variety of cellular proteins without directly killing the intoxicated cell. Several bacterial toxins can act directly on T cells and antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. Impairment of the immunologic functions of these cells by toxins can lead to human disease. Some of the disease-causing toxins have been exploited to further basic knowledge of cell biology or for medical purposes. Vaccines directed at the toxic component of bacterial pathogens have proven effective in preventing certain diseases. Research on a microbial toxin produced by an established, emerging, or re-emerging pathogen is likely to yield novel information about the role of that toxin in disease as well as the properties of host cells that are subverted by the toxin.