Shiga and Shiga-like toxins.

Shiga and Shiga-like toxins.

Shiga toxins and apoptosis.

The enteric pathogens Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause bloody diarrheal diseases that may progress to life-threatening extraintestinal complications. Although the S. dysenteriae and STEC differ in the expression of a number of virulence determinants, they share the capacity to produce one or more potent cytotoxins, called Shiga toxins (Stxs...

Immunochemical and cytotoxic activities of Shigella dysenteriae 1 (shiga) and shiga-like toxins.

Toxins in culture supernatants and bacterial lysates of S. dysenteriae 1 and S. flexneri were quantitated by a cytotoxicity assay and a newly developed radioimmunoassay. Cytotoxin titers paralleled toxin antigen levels. Thus, variations in cytotoxicity among shigellae probably reflect differences in toxin yield rather than specific activity (cytotoxicity per microgram of toxin antigen).

Protection against Shiga Toxins

Shiga toxins consist of an A-moiety and five B-moieties able to bind the neutral glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) on the cell surface. To intoxicate cells efficiently, the toxin A-moiety has to be cleaved by furin and transported retrogradely to the Golgi apparatus and to the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzymatically active part of the A-moiety is then translocated to the cytosol, w...

Toxins and Antitoxins of Bacillus Dysenteriæ Shiga

With the methods which have been described we have separated an exotoxin and an endotoxin from cultures of the Shiga dysenteric bacillus. The study of the nature and effect of the poison of this microorganism is thus simplified. The two toxins are physically and biologically distinct. The exotoxin is relatively heat-labile, arises in the early period of growth, and yields an antiexotoxic immune...