Autoproteolytic Activation of Bacterial Toxins.docVIP

Toxins 2010, 2, 963-977; doi:10.3390/toxins2050963 OPEN ACCESS toxins ISSN 2072-6651 /journal/toxins Review Autoproteolytic Activation of Bacterial Toxins Aimee Shen Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, California 94305, USA; E-Mail: ashen2@; Tel.: +1-650-736-4099; Fax: +1-650-725-7424 Received: 31 March 2010; in revised form: 28 April 2010 / Accepted: 5 May 2010 / Published: 6 May 2010 Abstract: Protease domains within toxins typically act as the primary effector domain within target cells. By contrast, the primary function of th