What are the two main toxins produced by Clostridium Difficile?

What are the two main toxins produced by Clostridium Difficile?

• A. Toxins A & B
• B. Toxins B & C
• C. Endotoxins
• D. Toxins C & D

Answer: (A)

Clostridioides difficile causes disease primarily through two exo toxins that damage the intestinal lining. These toxins, A and B, are glucosyltransferases that inactivate Rho family GTPases in host cells, leading to disruption of the actin cytoskeleton, cell death, and a strong inflammatory response. Toxin A is classically the enterotoxin that promotes fluid secretion and mucosal injury, while toxin B is a very potent cytotoxin with strong disruptor effects on intestinal cells; together they drive the characteristic diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. Diagnostic testing often looks for either toxin in stool or the genes encoding them. Endotoxins come from Gram-negative bacteria and are not produced by C. difficile, and there are no widely recognized main toxins named C or D for this organism ( though some strains may produce a separate binary toxin, CDT, which is not the primary pair responsible for disease).

Clostridioides difficile causes disease primarily through two exo toxins that damage the intestinal lining. These toxins, A and B, are glucosyltransferases that inactivate Rho family GTPases in host cells, leading to disruption of the actin cytoskeleton, cell death, and a strong inflammatory response. Toxin A is classically the enterotoxin that promotes fluid secretion and mucosal injury, while toxin B is a very potent cytotoxin with strong disruptor effects on intestinal cells; together they drive the characteristic diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. Diagnostic testing often looks for either toxin in stool or the genes encoding them. Endotoxins come from Gram-negative bacteria and are not produced by C. difficile, and there are no widely recognized main toxins named C or D for this organism ( though some strains may produce a separate binary toxin, CDT, which is not the primary pair responsible for disease).