Pertussis toxin Pertussis toxin Pertussis toxin (PT) is a protein-based AB-type exotoxin produced by the bacterium "Bordetella pertussis", which causes whooping cough. PT is involved in the colonization of the respiratory tract and the establishment of infection. Research suggests PT may have a therapeutic role in treating a number of common human ailments, including hypertension, viral inhibition, and autoimmune inhibition. PT clearly plays a central role in the pathogenesis of pertussis although this was discovered only in the early 1980s. The appearance of pertussis is quite recent, compared with other epidemic infectious diseases. The earliest mention of pertussis, or whooping cough, is
Fatty liver disease Fatty liver disease Fatty liver disease (FLD), also known as hepatic steatosis, is a condition where excess fat builds up in the liver. There are two types non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease. NAFLD is made up of simple fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Risk factors for NAFLD include diabetes, obesity, and older age. The condition is also associated with other diseases that influence fat metabolism. It is difficult to distinguish alcoholic FLD, which is part of alcoholic liver disease, from nonalcoholic FLD (NAFLD), and both show microvesicular and macrovesicular fatty changes at different stages. Fatty