been shown in large animal models so further research is needed. This may allow for CTB to be used as an adjuvant for vaccinating against many kinds of diseases. This may include bacterial and viral infections, allergy and diabetes. Of note, as CTB has shown to induce mucosal humoral immune responses, vaccines against mucosal viruses such as HIV are a potential target. Membrane biology Lipid rafts Since cholera toxin has been shown to preferentially bind to GM1 gangliosides, this characteristic can be utilized for membrane studies. Lipid rafts are difficult to study as they vary in size and lifetime, as well being part of an extremely dynamic component of cells. Using cholera toxin β as a marker, we can get a better understanding of the properties and functions of lipid rafts. Endocytosis Endocytosis is broadly divided into clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent process, and the cholera toxin utilizes both pathways. Cholera toxin has been shown to enter cells via endocytosis in multiple pathways. These pathways include caveolae, clathrin-coated pits, clathrin-independent carriers (CLICs), and GPI-Enriched Endocytic Compartments (GEECs) pathway, ARF6-mediated endocytosis and Fast Endophilin-Mediated Endocytosis (FEME). How cholera toxin triggers these endocytosis pathways is not fully understood, but the fact that cholera toxin triggers these pathways shows the use of the toxin as an important marker to investigate these mechanisms. Retrograde trafficking One of the most important aspects of cholera toxin is the retrograde traffic mechanism that transports the toxin from the cell membrane back to the trans-Golgi network and the endoplasmic reticulum. Since both cholera toxin and GM1 species can be tagged with a fluorescent tags, the mechanism of retrograde traffic can be monitored. This opens up the potential to monitor the mechanism in real time. This may open up new discoveries on how intracellular transport works and how protein and lipid sorting work in the endocytotic pathway. See also Enterotoxin Ganglioside References External links De, Sambhu Nath. Enterotoxicity of bacteria-free culture filtrate of Vibrio cholerae. Nature. 30 May 1959. 183:1533–4. Bacterial proteins AB5 toxins Toxic enzymes