Intestinal electrolyte transport and diarrheal disease

To the Editor: The review of intestinal electrolyte transport and diarrheal disease by Field et al. (Sept. 28 issue)¹ contains a number of statements about the structure, mechanism, and role of Shiga toxin in shigellosis that are incorrect. The molecular weight and mechanism of action have recently been clarified. The molecular weight of Shiga toxin is now known, on the basis of DNA-sequence data, to be 70,675.^2,3 Although the toxin was thought for a time to bind to glycoproteins, it is now clear that the receptor is galabiose on the neutral glycolipid globotriaosylceramide.^4,5 Shiga toxin does not act on a.