Last updated: by Sagar Aryal
Many bacteria produce toxins, enzymes and pigments. Toxins and enzymes play important role in pathogenecity. Toxins are of two types:
Exotoxins are usually heat labile proteins secreted by certain species of bacteria which diffuse into the surrounding medium.
Endotoxins are heat stable lipopolysaccharide-protein complexes which form structural components of cell wall of Gram Negative Bacteria and liberated only on cell lysis or death of bacteria.
Some of the differences betweenExotoxins and Endotoxins are as follows:
| S.N. | Exotoxins | Endotoxins |
|---|---|---|
1 | Excreted by organisms, living cell | Integral part of cell wall |
2 | Found in both Gram positive and Gram Negative bacteria | Found mostly in Gram Negative Bacteria |
3 | It is polypeptide | It is lipopolysaccharide complex. |
4 | Relatively unstable, heat labile (60°C) | Relatively stable, heat tolerant |
5 | Highly antigenic | Weakly immunogenic |
6 | Toxoids can be madeby treating with formalin | Toxoids cannot be made |
7 | Highly toxic, fatal in µg quantities | Moderately toxic |
8 | Usually binds to specific receptors | Specific receptors not found |
9 | Not pyrogenic usually, Toxin Specific | Fever by induction of interleukin 1 (IL-1) production, Shock |
10 | Located on extrachromosomal genes (e.g. plasmids) | Located on chromosomal genes |
11 | Filterable | Not so |
12 | It has mostly enzymatic activity | It has no enzymatic activity |
13 | Its molecular weight is 10KDa | Its molecular weight is 50-1000KDa |
14 | On boiling it get denatured. | On boiling it cannot be denatured. |
15 | Detected by many tests (neutralization, precipitation, etc) | Detected by Limulus lysate assay |
16 | Examples: Toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus anthrcis(Alpha-toxin, also known as alpha-hemolysin (Hla)) | Examples: Toxins produced by E.coli, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, Vibrio cholera(Cholera toxin- also known as choleragen) |
17 | Diseases: Tetanus, diphtheria, botulism | Diseases: Meningococcemia, sepsis by gram negative rods |
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why endotoxin do not produced by gram positive bacteria because it have also lipopolysaccharide in cell wall
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Antigens are allmost proteins and exotoxins are proteins thus it is more antigenic and endotoxins are lipobolysacchrides which are less immunogenic
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Requested to know the moleculecular weight of exo and endotoxins, where other sources shows endotoxins (10kDa) and exotoxins (50-1000kDa), the exact oppposite to this version, hope i will get exact answer
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I am confused little bit, why and how after mostly gram negative bacteria after die or cell lysis produce endotoxin?
It means that in gram negative treatment, clinicallu treatment is based on endotoxin or bacteria itself.
Eg. You are given medicine to treat endotoxin or bacteria itself.
If you treat bacteria itself, how can bacteria causes diseases if it still live in host organisms??Reply
Remember that this endotoxin are being produced by the bacteria cell as a way of damaging host cell / host defense ….once the bacterial cell kills some host cell then endotoxin are produced drugs are offered to counter attack of more cells which might lead to production of more endotoxin
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Hence, you should give bacteriostatic rather than cidal
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In book Lange Microbiology Review 14th edition Page 39 it is written E.coli, V.cholerae, Bordetella pertussis produces Exotoxin but they are Gram negative bacteria. Can they produces both Exotoxin and Endotoxin ?
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It is written that exotoxin cab be produced in both gram positive and negative, but only endotoxin are special products by gram negative.
But endotoxin is only produced in negative bacteria.Reply
Yes. In Gram negative bacteria both are existing, endo as well as exo toxin.
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Gram negative bacteria produces both endotoxin and exotoxin but only that they mostly or most of them produces endotoxin.
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What about Staphyococcus and Streptococcus toxin? Is not pyrogenic?
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They are both gram positive bacteria belonging to group A and produces exotoxin hence pyrogenic since they cause fever.
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It’s not pyrogenic rather pyogenic,
Pyrogenic means produce fever while pyogenic means produce pus /abscess.Reply
why are endotoxin more heat stable than exotoxins? ?
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Exotoxins are mainly proteins, hence get denatured due to increase in temperature, but endotoxins are poly saccharides that do not denature by increase in temperature hence heat stable.
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bacteria produces exotoxins which are protein in nature hence heat labile while bacteria producing endotoxins have cell wall which is structurally lipopolysaccharide protein complex hence tolerate high temperatures.
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I think because exotoxins are polypeptides and proteins get denatured by heat that’s why they are heat labile .
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Thank you for your post! It really helps me easily understand more about endotoxins and exotoxins.
However, I wonder that choleragen is a heat-labile protein in V. cholerae which is a gram-negative bacteria, and which feature we order it as an endotoxin?
Thank you!
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Outer membrane of all gram negative bacteria (endotoxin) is Lipopolysaccharides and V.cholera is Gram negative so we order it as an endotoxin.
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Please what makes endotoxin more potent than exotoxin
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Too many endotoxins in the bloodstream disrupt the functioning of the immune system. This is the trigger and the source of virtually every chronic and neurological disease. When they overwhelm the immune system with too many endotoxins in the bloodstream it is more of an instant kill rather than death by a thousand cuts. Exotoxins are not as subtle. You know when they have infected you and if you don’t do something about it, you die.
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endotoxins are tolerate high temperature while exotoxins are are heat labile
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Does staphylococcus aureus have endotoxins?
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No, because Staphylococcus aureus is Gram positive. Endotoxins are part of the structure of Gram negative cell walls
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no because staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacteria hence produces exotoxins
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endotoxin release when bacteria is lysed or dead. after lysis of bacteria the cell wall of gram negative (lps) bacteria work as a endotoxin. endotoxin increase the temperature of human body so it is fever producing toxin. so endotoxin testing is necessary in all IM & IV fluid.
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I am a student of microbiology…nice write up but my question goes this way…
Why is exotoxin highly antigenic and endotoxins weakly immunogenic since the molecular weight of endotoxins(50-1000kDa) is greater than that of exotoxins(10kDa)?Reply
I think that In the table properties for item 13 are written the wrong way around
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what is the difference between pyrogen testing and endotoxin testing?
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Sir it is good
My question is why endotoxines not converted to toxoids?Reply
because endotoxine gram +Ve and -Ve and exotoxine just gram -Ve
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its not true,exotoxin are in gram positive but at the same time can be found in gram negative,endotoxin are found only in gram negative, gram negative bacteria whin they get susceptable host they cause infection when they get lysed or die hence producing alot of heat which result to fever.
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I am a master student of microbiology. I wonder if anyone could help me find the answers of the two questions below:
1-Are there any bacterial toxins that are not secreted out and are kept within the cell?
2-Are there any lipid toxins?Reply
1st :endotoxins are not secreted out of the cell , they only act when lysis of bacteria occurs.
2nd : endo toxins are lipid toxins , they are structural component of bacterial cell wall , in form of lipopolysachrideReply
Why can’t gram positive bacteria produce endotoxins?
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Endotoxins are part of the outer membrane of the cell wall of Gram negative bacteria. Gram positive bacteria do not have an outer membrane as part of their cell wall.
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there is a small mistake regarding the enzymatic activity of toxins. the exotoxins have enzymatic activity which can e denatured on heating while endotoxins being LPS has no enzymatic activity and has no effect of heating because of lipid nature.
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Your comment is correct. The lipopolysaccharide component of Gram negative bacterial cell wall has no enzymatic activity, and is chemically not related to the protein enzyme composition.
Bacterial pyrogens are not affected by most sterilization processes, such as steam, ethylene gas, and gamma or electron beam irradiation.
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I need you to help me find more information on why E.coli is sensitive to brilliant green. Thanks
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That cool, am a graduate of Microbiology, this question was part of the question asked from me during my seminar presentation. Was working on global health issue of Aflatoxin in food and agriculture. Its nice keep it up. Microbiology is all encompassing
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