Organic Chemical
endotoxin Audio
en·do·tox·in [ en-doh-tok-sin ]
Subclass of:
Bacterial Toxins
Etymology:
Greek endon = within + toxikon = poison
Definitions related to endotoxins:
  • The lipopolysaccharide complexes that are part of the outer membrane of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Pseudomonas, Neisseria, Haemophilus, and other leading pathogens. Upon bacterial infections, the lipid component (Lipid A) of endotoxin contributes to its toxicity, while the polysaccharide components contribute to immunogenicity.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Toxin closely associated with the living cytoplasm or cell wall of certain microorganisms, which does not readily diffuse into the culture medium, but is released upon lysis of the cells.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Toxins closely associated with the living cytoplasm or cell wall of certain microorganisms, which do not readily diffuse into the culture medium, but are released upon lysis of the cells.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • Endotoxin, toxic substance bound to the bacterial cell wall and released when the bacterium ruptures or disintegrates. Endotoxins consist of lipopolysaccharide and lipoprotein complexes. The protein component determines its foreign (antigenic) nature; the polysaccharide component determines the...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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