Role of Clostridium perfringens Alpha, Beta, Epsilon, and Iota Toxins in Enterotoxemia of Monogastrics and Ruminants

Abstract

Clostridium perfringens produce several virulence factors to increase coloniza-tion and improve nutrient availability. Enterotoxins are among these virulence factors, and while some only have local effects, others can act at a distance from the bacterial colonization site. Enterotoxemias are defined as diseases caused by toxins generated in the intestine and absorbed into systemic circulation with systemic consequences. The term enterotoxemia is generally used indistinctly to name enteric and/or systemic diseases, but under the definition of enterotoxemia, several aspects of intestinal bacterial diseases include pathogen-esis and toxin modes of action. The present aim is to describe some enterotoxemia-associated toxins, focusing on those which clearly produce sys-temic and enteric effects, as well as those commonly thought to produce enterotoxemia but remain questionable upon further consideration of the existing evidence.