Heat-stable enterotoxin ST
This family consists of the heat stable enterotoxin ST from Escherichia coli. ST is a small peptide of 18 or 19 amino acid residues produced by enterotoxigenic E. coli and is one of the causes of acute diarrhoea in infants and travellers in developing countries. ST triggers a biological response by binding to a membrane-associated guanylyl cyclase C which is located on intestinal epithelial cell membranes.