Shiga toxins and apoptosis

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...

Shiga and Shiga-like toxins.

Shiga toxins induce apoptosis in pulmonary epithelium-derived cells.

The effect of Shiga toxins (Stxs) produced by Escherichia coli on human lung epithelial cells was investigated. Specific antibodies for Stxs positively stained lung tissue from a patient who died of hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with Stx-producing E. coli (STEC) infection, indicating the deposition of Stxs in the lung. Binding experiments with normal lung tissue revealed apparent Stx bin...

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...