Microbiology Flashcards
Toxins
Made by bacteria and cause damage
Exotoxins
Not integral part of bacteria
1. Secreted by bacteria
2. Can act locally or systemically
3. Membrane active: changes stability of membrane
4. Hydrolytic enzymes
5. Superantigen exotoxins
6. Subunits
A. A subunit: toxic activity
B. B subunit
1. Mediates adherence of toxin complex to host cell
2. AIDS entrance of exotoxin into host cell
C. Subunits can be synthesized by same or separate genes
Membrane-active exotoxins
Changes stability of host cell membrane
- Often pore-forming
- Staph aureus
- C. Perfringens
Hydrolytic enzymes as exotoxins
Cleave host cellular proteins
1. Different effects depending on protein
Superantigen exotoxins
Inappropriately activate immune system -> cytokine storm -> shock
Endotoxins
Infections caused by gram (-) bacteria
- LPS endotoxins of outer membrane
- Lipid A portion
- Dec platelet count
LPS endotoxin
- Significant component of disease process
- Cause local injury
- Major effected when bacteria enter bloodstream
Lipid A portion of endotoxin
Causes fever
- Release IL-1 and TNF-alpha from macrophages
- Inflammation
Bacillus anthracis
- Gram (+)
- Non motile
- Facultative anaerobes
- Spore-forming rod
- Etiological agent = anthrax
- Plasmid encode primary virulence factors
A. Toxin production
B. Capsule formation: helps resist phagocytosis - Toxins
A. Protecting antigen (PA): B subunit
B. Lethal factor (LF): A subunit
C. Edema factor (EF): A subunit
D. Can just immunize against PA
Bordetella pertussis
- Gram (-) aerobics coccobacillus
- Whooping cough
- Toxins
A. Pertussis toxin (PT): hydrolyzes cellular NAD and transfers ADP-ribose -> alpha subunit of G-proteins
B. Adenylate Cyclase toxin (ACT)- Amino terminal adenylate cyclase (AC) domain
- Pore-forming repeat in toxin (RTX) hemolysin domain
Corynebacterium diptheriae
- Gram (+) rod
- Mucous membrane uppers resp tract
- Diphtheria
- Diphtheria toxin: encoded in lysogenic, temperate bacteriophage
A. Virus in bacteria encoded into bacteria DNA- needs Fc to replicate
B. Availability of inorganic Fe limits bacterial growth rate -> max toxin production
C. Inhibits peptide chain elongation factor EF-2- Attaches adenosine diphosphate-ribosyl group
D. A-B subunits held together by disulfide bonds
- Attaches adenosine diphosphate-ribosyl group
Clostridium tetani
- Anaerobic gram (+) rod
A. Spores don’t stain - Tetanus
- In environment
A. Contaminates wounds
B. Spores germinate in anaerobic environment of devitalized tissue - Tetanospasm toxin
A. Binds to receptors on presynaptic membrane motor neurons
B. Retrograde transport system -> cell bodies in spinal cord and brainstem
C. Toxin -> terminal inhibitory cells
D. Degrades synaptobrevin: required for docking of neurotransmitter vesicles on presynaptic membranes - Spastic paralysis
- Extremely small amounts of toxin lethal to humans
- Prevention = immunization w/ tetanus toxoid
Clostridium botulinum
- Anaerobic gram (+) spore forming
- Soil, water, canned food
- Botulinum toxin: most potent toxin known
A. Heat labile
B. Similar to tetanus
C. Absorbed from gut- Binds presynaptic receptors on motor neuron PNS and cranial n.
- Proteolysis of target proteins in neurons
A. Inhibits release ACh at synapse -I muscle contraction and flaccid paralysis
Clostridium perfringens
- Assoc w/ war wounds
- Anaerobic gram (+) spore-forming
- Spores -> wounds via soil/feces
- Vegetative cells -> several toxins
A. Necrotizing and hemolytic
B. Gas gangrene - Toxins
A. Alpha (CPA)- Lecithinase: damages cell membrane by splitting lecithin -> diglyceride and phosphorylcholine
- Main virulence factor in gas gangrene
B. Beta (CPB) -> necrotizing enteritis and enterotoxemia (neonates)
C. Epsilon (ETX)
D. Iota (ITX)
E. Enterotoxin (CPE): human food-poisoning
F. Necrotic B-like (NetB) toxins
G. Collagenases
H. DNAses
Staph aureus virulence factors
- Panton-valentine leukocidin (PVL) -> WBC lysis
- Alpha-hemolysin (alpha toxin) -> pore-forming -> cell lysis
- Phenol-soluble modeling (PSMs): small, amphipathic proteins -> lyes neutrophils and erythrocytes
- Arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME)
- Qar regulatory locus: controls expression of toxins
Staph aureus toxins
- Related to some disease
- Damage cell membrane
- Enterotoxins
- Pore-forming
- Exfoliating toxins
- Superantigen toxins
S. Aureus toxins related to disease
- Toxic shock syndrome (TSS)
- Staph scalded sin syndrome (SSSS)
- Necrotizing pneumonia
- Deep-seated skin infections
Staph aureus toxins that damage cell membrane
- Degrade inter-cellular connections
- Modulate immune response
A. Toxic shock syndrome
Staph aureus enterotoxins
- Often in food not properly refrigerated
- Absorbed in gut
- Stimulate vagus receptors -> vomiting center
Staph aureus pore-forming toxins
- Hemolysin alpha
- Hemolysin beta (sphingomyelinase C)
- Leukotoxins
- Phenol-soluble modulins
Hemolysin- alpha
Staph aureus pore-forming toxin
- Lysis
- Alteration cell-signaling pathways
Hemolysin-beta (sphingomyelinase C)
Staph aureus pore-forming toxins
1. Cytotoxic to keratinocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, monocytes, and T lymphocytes
Leukotoxins
Staph aureus pore-forming toxins
- Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)
- Gamma-hemolysin (HIgA, HIgC, HIgB)
- Leukotoxins ED (LukE, LukD)
- Leukotoxins AB/GH (LukAB/LukGH)
Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs)
Staph aureus pore-forming toxins
1. Attach cytoplasmic membrane in non-specific way -> membrane disintegration
Staph aureus exfoliating toxins
- Epidermolytic toxins
- Specific serine proteases
- Hydrolyses desmosome cadherins
- Assoc w/ cleavage of keratinocytes junctions and cell-cell adhesion
- Deep skin peeling and blisters
Staph aureus superantigen toxins
- > 23 known
- Includes TSST
A. Shock
B. High fever
C. Diffuse red rash
D. Stimulate T cells by binding MHC-II and TCRs -> IL-2, IFN-gamma, and TNF
Streptococcus toxins
- Group A beta-hemolytic strep
A. Pyrogens exotoxins A and C: superantigen act like TSST-1 - Rapidly progressive soft tissue infection
- Superantigen
A. Pyrogenic exotoxins (Spe)A,C,G-M
B. Streptococcal superantigen (SSA)
C. Streptococcal mitogen exotoxin Z (SmeZ) - Group A strep pore-forming
- Streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B
- Immunoglobulin degrading enzyme
- 2 major substilisin-like serine proteases
Group A strep pore-forming toxin
- Hemolysin
A. Streptolysin S (SLS): targets RBCs, platelets, subcellular organelles, and leukocytes
B. Streptolysin O (SLO)- Choloesterol-dependent cytolysin
- Targets macrophages, neutrophils, epithelial cells, and endothelial cells
- Contributes to impaired phagocytes clearance
Streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SpeB)
- Cysteine protease
- Cleaves IgG into Fc and Fab fragments and degrades IgA, IgM, IgD, and IgE
- Cleaves components of complement activation pathway
Enterotoxins
- Bacillus cereus
- Vibrio cholera
- Salmonella
- Shigella
- Escherichia