Toxins-useful biochemical tools for leukocyte research

Leukocytes are a heterogeneous group of cells that display differences in anatomic localization, cell surface phenotype, and function. The different subtypes include e.g., granulocytes, monocytes, dendritic cells, T cells, B cells and NK cells. These different cell types represent the cellular component of innate and adaptive immunity. Using certain toxins such as pertussis toxin, cholera toxin or clostridium difficile toxin, the regulatory functions of Gα(i), Gαs and small GTPases of the Rho family in leukocytes have been reported. A summary of these reports is discussed in this review.