Cyclic Nucleotides: Mediators of Bacterial Toxin Action in Disease
- JOEL MOSS, M.D., Ph.D.;
- DRUSILLA L. BURNS, Ph.D.;
- JUDITH A. HSIA, M.D.;
- ERIK L. HEWLETT, M.D.;
- RICHARD L. GUERRANT, M.D.; and
- MARTHA VAUGHAN, M.D.
Abstract
In several bacterial diseases, the clinical, laboratory, and histologic findings result from the elaboration by the organism of a toxic product that binds to and may enter the host cell to alter its metabolism. In some cases, the intracellular mediators of toxin action are the cyclic nucleotides, cyclic adenosine 5′-monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine 5′-monophosphate (cGMP), the ubiquitous second messengers through which numerous hormones, neurotransmitters, and drugs exert their effects. Certain toxins act by enhancing the activity of cellular enzymes that synthesize cAMP or cGMP; and others, by themselves catalyzing cAMP synthesis after entering the cell. Studies of the mechanism of action of these toxins have helped in deciphering the enzymatic components within animal cells that are responsible for cyclic nucleotide synthesis, degradation, and function as well as in understanding the pathogenesis of the diseases in which they are involved.
Article and Author Information
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▸An edited transcription of a Combined Clinical Staff Conference held on 20 December 1983 at the Amphitheatre, Building 10, Bethesda, Maryland, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Authors who wish to cite a section of the conference and specifically indicate its author can use this example for the form of reference:
BURNS DL. Choleragen and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin: activation of adenylate cyclase by adenosine 5′-diphosphate-ribosylation of a regulatory subunit, pp. 654-5. In: Moss J, moderator. Cyclic nucleotides: mediators of bacterial toxin action in disease. Ann Intern Med. 1984;101:653-66.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Joel Moss, M.D., Ph.D.; Section on Molecular Mechanisms, Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 5N307; Bethesda, MD 20205.
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