Centre for Cancer Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
Toxicon. 2012 Nov;60(6):1085-107. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2012.07.016. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
Shiga toxins are virulence factors produced by the bacteria Shigella dysenteriae and certain strains of Escherichia coli. There is currently no available treatment for disease caused by these toxin-producing bacteria, and understanding the biology of the Shiga toxins might be instrumental in addressing this issue. In target cells, the toxins efficiently inhibit protein synthesis by inactivating ribosomes, and they may induce signaling leading to apoptosis. To reach their cytoplasmic target, Shiga toxins are endocytosed and transported by a retrograde pathway to the endoplasmic reticulum, before the enzymatically active moiety is translocated to the cytosol. The toxins thereby serve as powerful tools to investigate mechanisms of intracellular transport. Although Shiga toxins are a serious threat to human health, the toxins may be exploited for medical purposes such as cancer therapy or imaging.
志贺毒素是由痢疾志贺菌和某些大肠杆菌菌株产生的毒力因子。目前尚无针对这些产毒细菌引起的疾病的治疗方法，而了解志贺毒素的生物学特性可能有助于解决这一问题。在靶细胞中，毒素通过使核糖体失活而有效地抑制蛋白质合成，并且它们可能诱导导致细胞凋亡的信号转导。为了到达其细胞质靶标，志贺毒素通过内吞作用并通过逆行途径被运输到内质网，然后将酶活性部分易位到细胞质溶胶中。因此，毒素可作为研究细胞内运输机制的有力工具。尽管志贺毒素对人类健康构成严重威胁，但毒素可用于医学目的，如癌症治疗或成像。
