The chemical nature and the formation of bacterial toxins has been widely discussed. Diphtheria toxin may be regarded as a classical subject. Most of the earlier authors regarded it as a protein or a product derived therefrom. Recently some American authors, Warden, Connell, and Holly, have emphatically declared the toxin to be a "colloidal" mixture of fats and protein. As to the formation of t...

Botulinum neurotoxin injections are a valuable treatment modality for many therapeutic indications and have revolutionized the field of aesthetic medicine so that they are the leading cosmetic procedure performed worldwide. Studies show that onabotulinumtoxinA, abobotulinumtoxinA, and incobotulinumtoxinA are comparable in terms of clinical efficacy. Differences between the products relate to th...

Pore-forming toxins are protein assemblies used by many organisms to disrupt the membranes of target cells. They are expressed as soluble monomers that assemble spontaneously into multimeric pores. However, owing to their complexity, the assembly processes have not been resolved in detail for any pore-forming toxin. To determine the assembly mechanism for the ring-shaped, homododecameric pore o...

After binding, Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) initially localizes in a small (approximately 90-kDa) complex in plasma membranes. This event is followed by formation of a second membrane complex, referred to as large (160-kDa) complex. Contrary to a previous hypothesis proposing that CPE inserts into intestinal brush border membranes (BBMs) when this toxin is localized in the small co...

The metabolic pathway of T-2 toxin in Curtobacterium sp. strain 114, one of the T-2 toxin-assimilating soil bacteria, was investigated by thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatographic analyses. T-2 toxin added to the basal medium as a single carbon and energy source was biotransformed into HT-2 toxin and an unknown metabolite. Infrared, mass spectrum, proton magnetic resonance, and other physico-ch...

The interaction of washed cocci, prepared under specified conditions, and a polynucleotide (AF) results in the formation of streptolysin S provided a fermentable carbohydrate is present. Maximum toxin formation requires, in addition, the presence of magnesium, potassium, and phosphate ions. Streptolysin S production proceeds anaerobically as well as aerobically but under the latter condition, a...

When exposed to a lipid bilayer, diphtheria toxin binds to it and forms transmembrane, voltage-dependent, anion-selective channels. The mean (+/- SD) conductance of these channels in asolectin membranes is 6.2 +/- 0.7 pmho (pS) in 0.2 M NaCl and 20 +/- 2 pmho in 1.0 M NaCl. The rate of channel formation depends on the pH in the toxin-containing compartment; it is very low at pH greater than 5.0...

We have examined whether pertussis toxin, an agent known to inhibit entry of normal lymphocytes into tissues, affects invasion and metastasis formation by malignant lymphoma and T-cell hybridoma cells. The toxin reduced invasion in vitro in hepatocyte cultures to 20% of control values. Inhibition was maximal after pretreatment for 2 h with approximately 100 ng/ml. The effect of pretreatment wit...

Montie, Thomas C. (Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pa.), and Samuel J. Ajl. Selective inhibition by tryptophan analogues of murine toxin synthesis in Pasteurella pestis. J. Bacteriol. 88:1467-1475. 1964.-Washed-cell suspensions of Pasteurella pestis, avirulent strain "Tjiwidej," exhibited a preferential inhibition of toxin synthesis relative to total protein formation, when grown ...