Neurotoxicity of clostridium toxins

Complexity of toxins from Clostridium septicum and Clostridium chauvoei.

Production of toxins by Clostridium septicum and Clostridium chauvoei has been the subject of many conflicting reports. Roux and Chamberland (1887) first noted that 3 to 4 day filtrates were antigenic; conferring on guinea pigs an immunity against infection with viable organisms. Production of a lethal toxin by C. septicum was however, demonstrated by Leclainche (1898) and Leclainche and Morel ...

Toxins A and B of Clostridium difficile.

The toxins produced by Clostridium difficile share several functional properties with other bacterial toxins, like the heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli and cholera toxin. However, functional and structural differences also exist. Like cholera toxin, their main target is the disruption of the microfilaments in the cell. However, since these effects are not reversible, as found with ch...

Clostridium difficile toxins: mediators of inflammation.

Clostridium difficile is a significant problem in hospital settings as the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea worldwide. C. difficile infections (CDIs) are characterized by an acute intestinal inflammatory response with neutrophil infiltration. These symptoms are primarily caused by the glucosylating toxins, TcdA and TcdB. In the past decade, the frequency and severity of CDIs have increa...

Clostridium perfringens and its arsenal of toxins.

The Enterotoxicity of Clostridium difficile Toxins

The major virulence factors of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are two large exotoxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB). However, our understanding of the specific roles of these toxins in CDI is still evolving. It is now accepted that both toxins are enterotoxic and proinflammatory in the human intestine. Both purified TcdA and TcdB are capable of inducing the pathophysiology of CDI, although most ...