Julian Rood

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are a diverse group of cytolytic proteins that are produced by many different organisms (1, 2). Bacterial PFTs are important virulence factors (1) and in general are produced as soluble precursors that bind to the host cell membrane and assemble as oligomers that subsequently form transmembrane pores (3, 4).PFTs can be divided into two classes depending on whether the po ...

BackgroundClostridium perfringens is a bacterial pathogen that causes a wide variety of diseases ranging from gas gangrene and food poisoning in humans to necrotic enteritis in chickens [1]. Aside from host factors, the type and severity of disease is dependent on the production of a set of toxins and extracellular enzymes [1]. Most C. perfringens toxins are not produced by all strains; their stru ...