Pore-forming toxins are virulence factors produced by a great variety of pathogenic bacteria ranging from the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus to the Gram-negative Helicobacter pylory. The recent studies reviewed in this volume describe the progress that has been made in dissecting the different steps of the mode of action of these proteins which generally include binding to specific cell surface receptors, oligomerization into ring like structures and membrane perforation.

List of Contents

Pore-Forming Bacterial Protein Toxins: An Overview
The Cholesterol-Dependent Cytolysins
Aerolysin from Aeromonas hydrophila and Related Toxins
Staphylococcal Pore-Forming Toxins
RTX Toxin Structure and Function: A Story of Numerous Anomalies and Few Analogies in Toxin Biology
Helicobacter pylori Vacuolating Cytotoxin: Cell Intoxication and Anion-Specific Channel Activity
Pore-Forming Colicins and Their Relatives.