Pathogenic C. difficile strains produce multiple toxins. The best-characterized are enterotoxin (C. difficile toxin A) and cytotoxin (C. difficile toxin B), both of which may produce diarrhea and inflammation in infected patients (C. difficile colitis), although their relative contributions have been debated. The diarrhea may range from a few days of intestinal fluid loss to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis, which is associated with intense inflammation of the colon and formation of pseudomembranes on the intestinal mucosal surface. Toxins A and B are glucosyltransferases that target and inactivate the Rho family of GTPases. Toxin B (cytotoxin) induces actin depolymerization by a mechanism correlated with a decrease in the ADP-ribosylation of the low molecular mass GTP-binding Rho proteins. There is also a binary toxin (AB toxin), but its role in disease is not fully understood.
