info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Autophagy and Toxins: A Matter of Life or Death
Fecha
2012-12Registro en:
Mestre Gimenez, Maria Belen; Colombo, Maria Isabel; Autophagy and Toxins: A Matter of Life or Death; Bentham Science Publishers; Current Molecular Medicine; 13; 2; 12-2012; 241-251
1566-5240
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Mestre Gimenez, Maria Belen
Colombo, Maria Isabel
Resumen
Bacterial protein toxins are important virulence factors. A particular class of toxins, the pore-form toxins (PFTs), shares the toxigenic mechanism of forming pores in the membrane of target cells. The relationship between autophagy and bacterial PFTs has been described for several toxin-secreting pathogens and in this review we have recapitulated the more recent findings on this issue. A common outcome is that the target cell, by a yet non-completely defined mechanism, senses the toxin attack and builds up complex responses as a protective mechanism for host survival. However, in some cases, this cellular response is beneficial to the microorganism by supplying an intracellular niche or by promoting host-cell death, which facilitates pathogen spreading.