Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201314, India.
Gene Regulation Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, 110067, India.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Mar;105(5):1803-1821. doi: 10.1007/s00253-021-11134-z. Epub 2021 Feb 13.
Almost all bacteria synthesize two types of toxins-one for its survival by regulating different cellular processes and another as a strategy to interact with host cells for pathogenesis. Usually, "bacterial toxins" are contemplated as virulence factors that harm the host organism. However, toxins produced by bacteria, as a survival strategy against the host, also hamper its cellular processes. To overcome this, the bacteria have evolved with the production of a molecule, referred to as antitoxin, to negate the deleterious effect of the toxin against itself. The toxin and antitoxins are encoded by a two-component toxin-antitoxin (TA) system. The antitoxin, a protein or RNA, sequesters the toxins of the TA system for neutralization within the bacterial cell. In this review, we have described different TA systems of bacteria and their potential medical and biotechnological applications. It is of interest to note that while bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems have been well studied, the TA system in unicellular eukaryotes, though predicted by the investigators, have never been paid the desired attention. In the present review, we have also touched upon the TA system of eukaryotes identified to date. KEY POINTS: Bacterial toxins harm the host and also affect the bacterial cellular processes. The antitoxin produced by bacteria protect it from the toxin's harmful effects. The toxin-antitoxin systems can be targeted for various medical applications.
几乎所有细菌都合成两种类型的毒素——一种用于通过调节不同的细胞过程来生存，另一种则作为与宿主细胞相互作用的策略用于发病机制。通常，“细菌毒素”被认为是损害宿主生物体的毒力因子。然而，细菌为了生存而产生的毒素也会干扰其细胞过程。为了克服这一点，细菌进化出了一种分子，称为抗毒素，以抵消毒素对自身的有害影响。毒素和抗毒素由两个组件的毒素-抗毒素（TA）系统编码。抗毒素，一种蛋白质或 RNA，将 TA 系统的毒素隔离在细菌细胞内以中和其毒性。在这篇综述中，我们描述了细菌的不同 TA 系统及其在医学和生物技术中的潜在应用。值得注意的是，虽然细菌毒素-抗毒素系统已经得到了很好的研究，但单细胞真核生物中的 TA 系统虽然被研究人员预测到了，但从未得到过应有的关注。在本综述中，我们也提到了迄今为止已确定的真核生物 TA 系统。要点：细菌毒素既伤害宿主又影响细菌的细胞过程。细菌产生的抗毒素可保护其免受毒素的有害影响。毒素-抗毒素系统可作为多种医学应用的靶点。
