Ion Transport and Bacterial Toxins

Excerpt

The exact mechanisms by which bacterial toxins produce their effects are still poorly understood. One method of study has been to examine the effect of toxins on normal cellular processes such as the active transport of sodium and oxidative metabolism.

Active sodium transport can be studied in isolated epithelial membrane systems such as frog skin, urinary bladder of the toad, and segments of mammalian and amphibian intestine. A naturally occurring electrical potential difference is present between the two sides of such epithelially lined tissues. If electric current is passed through the tissue from an external battery so that the potential