Sean Brown

Charles Conn Robert McLean  Sean Brown

Abstract A major risk factor for acquiring Clostridioides difficile is antibiotic usage that disrupts a healthy microbial gut community facilitating establishment of infection. Once established, C. difficile secretes endotoxins (TcdA and TcdB) that are internalized into host colonic epithelial cells where they disrupt gut barrier function and induce hyper inflammation resulting in severe diarrhea and possibly leading to death.

Abstract The death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is well known for containing amatoxins such as alpha- and beta-amanitin, which inhibit eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. While these toxins have been used in research for almost a century, they have recently garnered attention for their role in drug-antibody conjugates. The amatoxins are still largely extracted from wild mushrooms, which cannot be made to fruit in the lab.