Researchers have found that cholera toxin activates a key molecule more strongly in people with the O-blood type, putting them at enlarged risk of getting more harshly ill from the disease than people of other blood types.
Cholera toxin hyper activates a key signaling molecule in intestinal cells of people with the most general blood type and high levels of that signaling molecule lead to excretion of electrolytes and water -- in other words, diarrhea, the researchers found.
Cholera is marked by severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration, shock and even death.
We have shown that blood type influences how strongly cholera toxin activates intestinal cells, leading to diarrhea," said the study's senior author James Fleckenstein, Associate Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Cholera sickens three million to five million people around the world every year, leading to 100,000 to 120,000 deaths, many of them in the Indian subcontinent, where cholera has been endemic for centuries.
The disease is caused by Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium that infects cells of the small intestine. Although the blood group antigens - A, B, AB and O - are best known for their presence on red blood cells, they also are found on the surface of many other cell types, including the cells that line the intestine.
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We have shown that blood type influences how strongly cholera toxin activates intestinal cells, leading to diarrhea," said the study's senior author James Fleckenstein, Associate Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Cholera sickens three million to five million people around the world every year, leading to 100,000 to 120,000 deaths, many of them in the Indian subcontinent, where cholera has been endemic for centuries.
The disease is caused by Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium that infects cells of the small intestine. Although the blood group antigens - A, B, AB and O - are best known for their presence on red blood cells, they also are found on the surface of many other cell types, including the cells that line the intestine.
Get daily updates helps you to keep yourself updated.
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