Editorial

Abstract

The 10th European Workshop Conference on Bacterial Protein Toxins (ETOX) took place in 2001. This has a double meaning: first, the celebration of an anniversary, especially the 10th, gives you the opportunity to look backward and to evaluate what has been done. Second, the start of a new millennium opens the horizon to the future. Looking backwards brings us 18 years ago when a group of scientists organized the first European Workshop in Seillac (France). Since then, the meeting has been organized every two years in a different European country and has managed to reach two major goals: - to maintain a high level of research in the bacterial protein toxins field. - to interest and to bring young scientists into this research field. During these 18 years, bacterial genes and genomes have been sequenced, proteins have been purified and crystallized, and their mechanisms of action have been investigated. New mechanisms of gene regulation have been discovered. The development of cell biology has had a strong impact on the bacterial toxins field. Together with the development of imaging techniques and microscopy, one can now follow visually the retrograde transport of tetanus toxin or the cell membrane rearrangements upon interaction with pathogenic bacteria. In addition, one should not forget the vaccine development which has been correlated with research on bacterial protein toxins. Having said so, one could conclude that the 10th anniversary would also be the end of the ETOX meetings since it may seem everything has been done. This is really not my feeling. Actually, it looks like the more we know about action of bacterial toxins and pathogenicity, the more we need to understand since the systems are getting more and more complex as we investigate them. I personally like to compare a cell hit by a toxin or a virulence factor to a pinball machine: signals are transmitted leading to extraordinary and amazing cell responses leading themselves to several issues from apoptosis to hosting of the bacteria. We still have a lot to explore to obtain a clear picture of these mechanisms. And even then, the picture will come from in vitro studies, using bacteria grown in a controlled environment, purified proteins and cultured cell lines. As pointed out by Dr. Harry Smith, to what extent can we extrapolate the in vitro data to the in vivo situation? Even the old ladies of the toxins such as diphtheria, tetanus, botulinum … toxins are still surrounded by some mysteries. For example, how do they reach the cytoplasm of the host cell, crossing the hydrophobic barrier of the cell membrane? In addition, in the future, we may have to deal with new types of toxins since new pathogens are emerging. Whether they secrete “true” toxins is still unclear but they certainly deserve our attention and expertise. And, last but not least, if I have a message to deliver to the future and to all scientists, it is not to forget that bacterial diseases is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world, especially in underdeveloped countries. I think that the understanding of the mysteries of life is a great challenge but we should have in mind that the final goal is to contribute to the quality of life of the world population. And we have in front of us many challenges because of the increased poverty, the bacterial antibiotic resistance and so many other factors. I believe ETOX meetings will continue to play an essential role in facing these challenges not only because the high quality of science that is presented and discussed but also because of the huge enthusiasm that characterizes the atmosphere of the meetings. I attended my first ETOX meeting 16 years ago, at the beginning of my thesis; and now, I have the feeling to belong to a strong international community. I think this is very important, especially for young researchers because it helps them finding their way. At least, this is what my own experience is telling me. By now, I hope I convinced you that there will be many ETOX meetings in front of us, and I wish good luck to the organizer of the first meeting of the 4th millennium. In the meantime, we will do our best. Véronique Cabiaux (Guest Editor) Senior Research Associate of The National Fund for Scientific Research Université Libre de Bruxelles S. F. M. B. - Bd. Du Triomphe - CP 206/02 B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium