L5 CPE, TSST, SpeA Flashcards
Is Clostridium perfringens colonising?
No, but live organisms must be consumed. The bacteria sporulate in GIT & produce toxin (CPE)
What type of toxin does C. perfringens produce?
CPE (Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin) - pore-forming toxin
What disease is associated with Clostridium perfringens?
Food poisoning
Are most Clostridia harmless?
Yes
Common in gut
Describe C. perf
Gram positive, spore-forming, anaerobic rod
What are the symptoms of a C. perf infection?
cramps, diarrhoea, onset 8-12 hrs, duration 24-36 hrs
What are common food sources of C. perf?
Large pieces of meat e.g. pork (pig roast), beef
(CPE is sensitive to proteases like trypsin. If you eat lots of protein (i.e. meat) you dilute out the trypsin & it is not longer there to degrade the CPE)
What may be the cause of >1 million cases of food poisoning in US annually?
Clostridium perfringens
Why isn’t C. perf a classic intoxication?
Since live cells are involved
C. perf can produce up to how many different toxins?
16
C. perf is classified into __ different toxinotypes based on the production of __ major toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon, iota)
5 different toxinotypes
4 major toxins
How does CPE work?
CPE binds to host cell → inserts into membrane → fluid loss (enterotoxin)
What percentage of C. perf strains produce CPE?
Only 5%
What strain of C. perf does not produce CPE?
Type B
What is alpha toxin (C. perf)?
membrane-damaging, hemolysin
What is beta toxin (C. perf)?
membrane-disrupting, pore-forming
halos of lysis form around colonies
Discuss epsilon toxin (C. perf)?
- ETX is the 4th most potent toxin known
- Pore-forming
- Causes enterotoxaemia
- Produced by type B & D strains
- Highly lethal disease with major impacts on domestic ruminants
- LD50 = 100 ng/kg
What is special about the iota toxin (C. perf)?
It has ADP ribosylation activity
ADP ribosylates actin - will change actin cytoskeleton of target cell
What is a binary toxin?
- It looks like an A-B toxin but is different
- Has 2 components (A & B)
- B component involved in binding to host cell & delivering A component to host cell
- 2 components are produced separately & don’t interact until they find each other on the surface of the host cell
- They are not linked by a disulphide bridge
- They are not encoded by the same gene
What is Perfringolysin O, and what does it do?
It is a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin
It forms a pore, which leads to cell lysis
Where are most of the C. perf toxin genes found?
on plasmids
What is the binding domain?
C-terminus
What is the cytotoxic domain?
It carries the cytotoxic activity and inserts into the membrane of the target cell, creating a pore.
What is the function of complementation?
It controls for rare off-target genetic events that might account for phenotype