Open AccessEffect of Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin on MDCK cells
Author(s) -
Borrmann Erika,
Günther Horst,
Köhler Heike
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
fems immunology & medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1574-695X
pISSN - 0928-8244
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-695x.2001.tb00503.x
Subject(s) - clostridium perfringens , toxin , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , mitosis , cell cycle , ultrastructure , cell , biochemistry , bacteria , genetics , anatomy
Epsilon toxin is one of the major lethal toxins produced by Clostridium perfringens type D and B. It is responsible for a rapidly fatal disease in sheep and other farm animals. Many facts have been published about the physical properties and the biological activities of the toxin, but the molecular mechanism of the action inside the cells remains unclear. We have found that the C. perfringens epsilon toxin caused a significant decrease of the cell numbers and a significant enlargement of the mean cell volume of MDCK cells. The flow cytometric analysis of DNA content revealed the elongation of the S phase and to a smaller extent of the G2+M phase of toxin‐treated MDCK cells in comparison to untreated MDCK cells. The results of ultrastructural studies showed that the mitosis is disturbed and blocked at a very early stage, and confirmed the toxin influence on the cell cycle of MDCK cells.