Vacuolating
cytotoxin A (VacA) was previously the only main H. pylori factor known to act on mitochondria, causing cellular membrane and organelle dysfunction and leading to cell death.
This blood test evaluates a breach of intestinal barrier by
bacterial cytotoxins and their entry into circulation.
If it encounters such a snippet, the T cell uses chemical weapons
called cytotoxins to destroy the host cell — and the invading pathogen, as well.
The tilivalline precursor without the indole, which was then named tilimycin, was shown to be a more
potent cytotoxin than tilivalline.
In addition, Kilcher is able to remove genes that give a phage unwanted properties, such as the integration into the bacterial genome or the production
of cytotoxins.
A blood test that identifies the overgrowth of large intestinal bacteria in the small intestine and the release of
bacterial cytotoxins.
One potential treatment approach could involve linking
a cytotoxin to a specific protein binder (as a small - molecule drug conjugate or SMDC).
Cytotoxins are deadly to all cells, but since the late 1990s, researchers have been able to tag toxins in such a way that they only enter cancer cells with specific surface molecules; making it possible to get a toxin into a cancer cell without posing a risk to normal cells.
The findings mean that tests which detect the presence of toxin in faecal samples (
the cytotoxin assay) are the most reliable indicators of true C - Diff.
The research team found that patients with faecal samples positive by
the cytotoxin assay were almost twice as likely to die within 30 days as those patients with samples only positive by the alternative «gold - standard» method (16.6 % versus 9.7 %).
The study compared the main different ways of diagnosing C - Diff, including the two «gold - standard» methods:
a cytotoxin assay, which looks for the presence of C - Diff toxin in faecal samples; and cytotoxigenic culture, which looks to see if there are bugs present in faecal samples that could possibly produce C - Diff toxin.