Therapeutic Potential of Cholera Toxin B Subunit for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases of the Mucosa

Abstract

Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a mucosal immunomodulatory protein that induces robust mucosal and systemic antibody responses. This well-known biological activity has been exploited in cholera prevention (as a component of Dukoral® vaccine) and vaccine development for decades. On the other hand, several studies have investigated CTB’s immunotherapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease and asthma. Furthermore, we recently found that a variant of CTB could induce colon epithelial wound healing in mouse colitis models. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms behind CTB’s anti-inflammatory activity and discuss how the protein could impact mucosal inflammatory disease treatment.

Keywords

• cholera toxin B subunit
• mucosal immunity
• immunomodulation
• anti-inflammatory
• retrograde trafficking
• GM1 ganglioside