Objectives for Bacterial Pathogenesis: Factors that Damage the Host - Producing Exotoxins: Toxins that Damage Host Cell Membranes

Learning Objectives for "Bacterial Pathogenesis: Factors that Damage the Host"
2. Producing Harmful Exotoxins
b. Type II Toxins: Exotoxins that Damage Host Cell Membranes

After completing this section you should be able to perform the following objectives.

1.* Briefly describe the roles of alpha toxin, kappa toxin, and mu toxin, and fermentation by Clostridium perfringens in the pathogenesis of gas gangrene.

2. State how the following toxins cause harm and name a bacterium producing each:

a. leukocidin
b. Pseudomonas phospholipase C
c. Pseudomonas pyocyanin
d. pneumolysin
e. Bordetella tracheal cytotoxin

3. State how the streptolysin S, streptolysin O, proteases, DNases, and streptokinase produced by Streptococcus pyogenes cause harm.

Highlighted Bacterium

1. Read the description of Clostridium difficile and match the bacterium with the description of the organism and the infection it causes.

Think-Pair-Share Questions

Explain how the ability of a large population of bacterium, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to simultaneously produce toxins and other virulence factors through quorum sensing would be an advantage to that population, as opposed to individual bacteria producing toxins and other virulence factors as soon as they enter the body.

(*) or (**) = possible discussion question

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