Monday 27 July 2015

Differences between endotoxin and exotoxin

There are so many differences between endotoxin and exotoxin. Endotoxin are released by gram negative bacterial cell from their cell wall and released only after the cell lysis. Living gram negative bacteria can't release endotoxin. That's why they are called endotoxin.
Exotoxin are mainly produced by the gram positive bacteria and released outside the cell by living bacterial cell. That's why they are called exotoxin. Differences between both are mentioned below.


Properties
Endotoxin
Exotoxin
Chemical Nature
Lipopolysaccharides
Proteins
Molecular weight
10 k Da
50-1000 k Da
Effect of heat
Heat stable not denatured
Denatured by heat
Relationship to cell
Part of outer membrane
Extracellular
Specificity
Low
High
Pyrogenicity
Yes
Occasionally
Source
Gram negative bacteria like E.coli, P.aeruginosa, Salmonella
Commonly gram positive bacteria like S.aures, B.subtilis
Can be toxoid
No
Yes
Antigenicity
Poor
Very good
Potency
Low
High
Mode of detection
Limulus amebocyte lysate
Neutralization, Precipitation etc.



Thanks!

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