A poisonous substance produced by cells or organisms that damages or destroys other cells.
From cyto- (Greek kytos, 'cell') + toxin (from Latin toxicum, 'poison'). The term emerged in immunology and microbiology to describe specific cell-damaging molecules released by immune cells or pathogens.
Some bacteria release cytotoxins that are so powerful they can kill your intestinal cells faster than your body can replace them—this is literally how cholera causes deadly diarrhea. Nature's weaponization of molecules is astonishingly specific: a single toxin might target one type of cell and ignore all others.
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