cholera toxin
noun
The toxin produced by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, a multimeric protein with two different types of subunit, one of which binds to a specific ganglioside on the small intestinal cell membrane, allowing the other to enter the cell and activate the enzyme adenylate cyclase and leading to the secretion of electrolytes and water which results in diarrhoea.
Origin
Early 20th century; earliest use found in The Lancet.