Abstract
The large clostridial cytotoxins are a family of functionally and structurally related toxins produced by clostridia comprising Clostridium difficile toxin A and toxin B, Clostridium sordellii lethal and haemorrhagic toxin and Clostridium novyi α-toxin (Table 1). These toxins are exotoxins which induce morphological changes of the cultured target cells based on the redistribution of the microfilament system. The cytotoxic activity on cultured cell lines led to their designation as cytotoxins. Despite their comparable in vitro effects, the cytotoxins — as major pathogenicity factors — are involved in different diseases and clinical outcomes. Clostridium difficile toxins A and B are of major clinical importance because both toxins are the causative agents in about 20% of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and in almost all cases of pseudomembranous colitis (Kelly et al. 1994; Kelly and Lamont 1998; Bartlett 1994).
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Just, I., Hofmann, F., Aktories, K. (2000). Molecular Mode of Action of the Large Clostridial Cytotoxins. In: Aktories, K., Wilkins, T.D. (eds) Clostridium difficile. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 250. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06272-2_3
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