Bacterial Protein Toxins with Emphasizing on Bacterial Enterotoxins

Backgrounds: Bacterial toxins are virulence factors that manipulate the functions of host cells and take over the control of main processes of living organisms. Importantly, they are non-curable, non-contagious, and non-infectious by chemotherapeutic agents and/or antibiotics. The multifactorial nature of the toxicity of bacterial toxins has made their investigation more complicated. Methods: In this review, we investigated some biological activities, structure, and action mechanism of several bacterial toxins using data from studies published in major international databases. Conclusion: Bacterial protein toxins are very diverse based on size, structure and mode of action. Based on the structure and the type of cell surface receptors, the mentioned toxins have activity on the cell surface (signal transmission, pore formation) or have intracellular activity. Many bacterial protein toxins have the ability to enter the cell by the endocytosis mechanism, and according to their intracellular targets, they can induce different intracellular effects, which in many cases lead to the death of the target cell. A large and interesting group of bacterial toxins are enterotoxins. The majority of toxigenic bacteria are environmental, and the digestive system is one of the most common ways of entering or encountering environmental bacteria or their toxic products through eating food. Many enteropathogenic bacteria produce enterotoxins in food, in the intestinal lumen or on the surface of the intestinal mucosa. Also, some entero-invasive bacteria penetrate the cells by inoculating some toxins into the intestinal cells. The challenge of studying bacterial toxins and enterotoxins lies in their complex nature and the need for comprehensive characterization, but the future holds promise with advancements in technology and interdisciplinary approaches to further our understanding and develop effective strategies for prevention and treatment.

کلیدواژه ها:

Bacteria ، Toxins ، Enterotoxins ، Exotoxins ، Review