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Hemolysins or haemolysins are lipids and proteins that cause lysis of red blood cells by destroying their cell membrane. Although the lytic activity of some microbe-derived hemolysins on red blood cells may be of great importance for nutrient acquisition, many hemolysins produced by pathogens do not cause significant destruction of red blood cells during infection. Although hemolysins are capable of doing this for red blood cells ''in vitro''. As mentioned above, most hemolysins are protein compounds, but others are lipids biosurfactants. ==Properties== Many bacteria produce hemolysins that can be detected in the laboratory. It is now believed that many clinically relevant fungi also produce hemolysins. Hemolysins can be identified by their ability to lyse red blood cells ''in vitro''. Not only are the erythrocytes affected by hemolysins, but there are also some effects among other blood cells, such as leucocytes (white blood cells). ''Escherichia coli'' hemolysin is potentially cytotoxic to monocytes, lymphocytes and macrophages, leading them to autolysis and death. Visualization of hemolysis (UK: haemolysis) of red blood cells in agar plates facilitates the categorization of Streptococcus. In the next image we can see the process of hemolysis by a ''Streptococcus'': 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「hemolysin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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