title: Fecal excretion of leukotriene C4 during human disease due to Shigella dysenteriae.
abstract: Fecal excretion of leukotriene C4 was determined in 26 individuals with dysentery and in 19 healthy controls. Of the patients, five were infected with Shigella dysenteriae type 1, 15 were infected with Shigella flexneri, two were infected with Shigella boydii, and four were infected with Shigella sonnei. Three of the healthy controls were infected with non-dysenteriae Shigellae. All isolates of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 produced Shiga toxin; the other strains were not toxigenic. Patients with dysentery due to Shigella dysenteriae type 1 excreted higher concentrations of leukotriene C4 (median, 3,234 pg/0.05 g of feces) than either ill individuals infected with non-dysenteriae Shigellae (median, 202 pg/0.05 g) or healthy carriers (median, 145 pg/0.05 g) and uninfected controls (median, 129 pg/0.05 g). We propose that Shiga toxin stimulates intestinal mast cells, which release leukotriene C4, contributing to the inflammatory response in Shigella dysenteriae type 1-associated dysentery.
authors.affiliation: Program on Infectious Diseases, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, Guatemala City.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Razin
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Acheson
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Keusch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000378:metabolism*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017997:Leukotriene C4 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D012760:Shigella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012762:Shigella dysenteriae / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D017997:Leukotriene C4