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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1991 Jun 15;88(12):5242–5246. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.12.5242

Vibrio cholerae produces a second enterotoxin, which affects intestinal tight junctions.

A Fasano 1, B Baudry 1, D W Pumplin 1, S S Wasserman 1, B D Tall 1, J M Ketley 1, J B Kaper 1
PMCID: PMC51848  PMID: 2052603

Abstract

Attenuated Vibrio cholerae vaccine strains specifically mutated in genes encoding cholera toxin (CT) are still capable of causing mild to moderate diarrhea. Culture supernatants of V. cholerae strains, both CT-positive and CT-negative, were examined in Ussing chambers, and a toxin was found that increases the permeability of the small intestinal mucosa by affecting the structure of the intercellular tight junction, or zonula occludens. The activity of this toxin is reversible, heat-labile, sensitive to protease digestion, and found in culture supernatant fractions containing molecules between 10 and 30 kDa in size. Production of this factor (named ZOT for zonula occludens toxin) correlates with diarrheagenicity of V. cholerae strains in volunteers and may represent another virulence factor of infectious diarrhea that must be eliminated to achieve a safe and effective live oral vaccine against cholera.

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Selected References

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