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How does cholera make people sick?

Updated: Jan 16, 2020

by Shake Karapetyan and Chuan Chang

Learn how cholera toxin makes people sick by disrupting a key signaling pathway in our cells. This video illustrates the basic principles of signal transduction mechanisms mediated by membrane-bound receptors by focusing on how cholera toxin works on a cellular level to disrupt G-protein signaling, and how this in turn can lead to diarrhea, dehydration, and even death.

This video was created by Shake Karapetyan and Chuan Chang, undergraduate students at New York University Abu Dhabi, as part of an introductory biology course taught by Dr. Kristen Sadler Edepli (Associate Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi) and Mona Kalmouni (Associate Instructor at NYU Abu Dhabi). It is part of our "Student Sketches" series, featuring videos created by students in conjunction with university and high school courses.

Related resources

• Learn about a signaling pathway that kicks in to gear when we are dehydrated in this Science Sketch about antidiuretic hormone and one that helps us flee from danger in this Science Sketch about adrenaline.

• Learn more about cell signaling with these lessons and videos from Khan Academy.

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