What is cytotoxin?

Cytotoxin is a kind of substance with toxic effect on cells Common examples of cytotoxins include chemicals and some snake venoms Cytotoxins generally attack only specific types of cells or organs, not the whole body Cells affected by cytotoxin die in different ways Necrosis is one way Cells that die in this form lose membrane wall integrity and fail Another way of cell death is apoptosis This death is programmed in the cell before the cytotoxin arrives This is usually a beneficial feature, as in the development of cells in a baby's fingers and toes, which undergo apoptosis to separate the fingers When the apoptosis of cytotoxin occurs, the pre-set cell death process is opened too early Once the sequence begins, there is no way to reverse it Genetic processes take minutes or days, but cell death is inevitable Necrosis is usually accompanied by apoptosis Cytotoxins can also kill cell populations by limiting cell growth, division, and reproduction Although cytotoxins are often regarded as harmful substances, they can also be used in medicine, especially in the treatment of cancer If you attack cancer cells in a tumor with cytotoxin, they die much faster than healthy cells because they reproduce faster Appropriate application of cytotoxin at the right time can cure cancer with the least possible harm This cancer treatment is also known as chemotherapy, because the application of cytotoxin will cause the death of healthy cells, so patients will have hair loss and immune system dysfunction and other symptoms Some diseases also produce cytotoxins Diphtheria and scarlet fever, for example, both produce toxins that make the condition worse If not treated, the cytotoxin process can develop so that patients cannot recover Helicobacter pylori is a common cytotoxin that can be found in the stomach and duodenum The bacteria break down urease, which produces ammonia in the stomach This ammonia is toxic to gastric epithelial cells and can lead to gastric ulcer and cancer.