A 62-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer comes to the physician because of a 2-day history of fever, chills, and new gluteal lesions. The lesions began as painless red macules and evolved into painful ulcers overnight. She received her fourth course of palliative chemotherapy 2 weeks ago. Her temperature is 38.2°C (100.8°F). Laboratory studies show a leukocyte count of 2,000/mm³ (20% segmented neutrophils). A photograph of one of the skin lesions is shown. Which of the following virulence factors is most likely involved in the pathogenesis of this patient's skin finding?

  1. A)Edema toxin
  2. B)Heat-stable toxin
  3. C)Toxic shock syndrome toxin-1
  4. D)Exotoxin AGABARITO
  5. E)Alpha toxin

Explicação

Exotoxin A is an AB toxin produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that inhibits protein synthesis by inactivating elongation factor 2 (EF-2) via ADP-ribosylation. This leads to cell death, which is responsible for the tissue necrosis seen in ecthyma gangrenosum. Th... Ver explicação completa e trilha adaptativa →

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