A rapid and simple method for detecting exfoliative toxin serotypes A and B from clinical isolates has been developed as a test kit (EXT-RPLA; Denka Seiken Co. Ltd., Niigata, Japan). This method is based on reversed passive latex agglutination. The detection limit of the EXT-RPLA observed for purified exfoliative toxin serotypes A and B was 1 ng/ml. We evaluated the clinical and epidemiologic u...

Comprising a major clade of Anura, toads produce and secrete numerous toxins from both the parotoid glands behind their eyes dorsal skin. These toxins, made various proteins compounds, possess pharmacological potential to be repurposed benefit human health. However, detailed genetic regulation toad toxin production is still poorly understood. A recent publication uncovering genome representativ...

Botulinum toxin is an exceedingly potent inhibitor of neurotransmission across the neuromuscular junction, causing flaccid paralysis and death. The potential for misuse of this deadly poison as a bioweapon has added a greater urgency to the search for effective therapeutics. The development of sensitive and efficient cell-based assays for the evaluation of toxin antagonists is crucial to the ra...

Abstract Heterocystous Cyanobacteria of the genus Nodularia form major blooms in brackish waters, while terrestrial Nostoc species occur worldwide, often associated biological soil crusts. Both genera, by virtue their ability to fix N 2 and conduct oxygenic photosynthesis, contribute significantly global primary productivity. Select produce hepatotoxin nodularin whether its production will chan...

Birth brachial plexus palsy (BBPP) is usually caused by plexus traction during difficult delivery. Although the possibility of complete recovery is relatively high, 5% to 25% of BBPP cases result in prolonged and persistent disability. In particular, muscle imbalance and co-contraction around the shoulder and elbow cause abnormal motor performance, osseous deformities, and joint contracture. Ph...

BACKGROUND: Clostridium septicum has played a significant role as a causative agent of many acute fetal diseases in man and animals. Alpha- toxin is the main factor in the pathogenesis of C. septicum with hemolytic, necrotic and lethal activities. OBJECTIVES: The study was designed to evaluate alpha-toxin purification and antibody production rate against a local strain of C. septicum NH2 which ...

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident BAX INHIBITOR-1 (BI-1) protein is one of a few cell death suppressors known to be conserved in animals and plants. The function of BI-1 proteins in response to various biotic and abiotic stress factors is well established. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We conducted co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) experiments to identify Arabidop...

Plant allocation to defensive compounds in response to growth in elevated atmospheric CO(2) in combination with two levels of nitrogen was examined. The aim was to discover if allocation patterns of transgenic plants containing genes for defensive chemicals which had not evolved in the species would respond as predicted by the Carbon Nutrient Balance (CNB) hypothesis. Cotton plants (Gossypium h...

A system of two ordinary differential equations is proposed to model chemically-mediated interactions between plants and herbivores by incorporating a toxin-modifiednumerical response. This numerical response accounts for the reduction in her-bivore's growth reproduction due chemical defenses from plants. It shownthat exhibits very rich dynamics including saddle-node bifurcations, Hopfbifurcati...

I N T R O D U C T I O N Saxi toxin (STX) and te t rodotoxin ( T T X ) are small organic molecules tha t specificially block sodium channels in m a n y exci table membranes . T h e physical chemical propert ies o f the receptor for S T X and T T X have been s tudied in bo th electrophysiological exper iments and in b ind ing exper iments with rad io labe led toxins. Earl ier results revealed s t...