Last. Evelyne Benoit(CNRS: Centre national de la recherche scientifique)H-Index: 23
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Toxins are biologically active substances produced by all kinds of living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They present a vast diversity of molecular structures and target a wide variety of receptors linked to physiological processes. Selected during evolution to give them a disabling/lethal effect, they display finely tuned functional properties in terms of affinity and selectivity. Toxins are, therefore, very attractive compounds because they exhibit a Janus-like charact...
Shiga toxins (Stxs), also known as Shiga-like toxins (SLT) or verotoxins (VT), constitute a family of structurally and functionally related cytotoxic proteins produced by the enteric pathogens Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Stx-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Infection with these bacteria causes bloody diarrhea and other pathological manifestations that can lead to HUS (hemolytic and uremic syndrome). At the cellular level, Stxs bind to the cellular receptor Gb3 and inhibit protein synthesis...