Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.24.69 (botulinum neurotoxin)
 1,901 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The N-terminal and C-terminal portions of the heavy chain fragment C from botulinum neurotoxin serotype C [rBoNT(HC)] were expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified by ion-exchange chromotography (IEC). The N-terminal fragment, rBoNTC(Hc)-N, was purified in three IEC steps: a Q Sepharose Fast Flow (FF) capture step followed by a negative SP Sepharose FF step, and finally, Q Sepharose FF as a polishing step. The purification process resulted in greater than 90% pure rBoNTC(Hc)-N based on SDS-PAGE, and yielded up to 1.02 g of rBoNTC(Hc)-N/kg of cells. Alternately, the C-terminal fragment, rBoNTC(Hc)-C, was purified by using a SP Sepharose FF capture step followed by a second SP Sepharose FF step, and finally a Q Sepharose FF as a polishing step. This purification process resulted in greater than 95% pure rBoNTC(Hc)-C based on SDS-PAGE, and yielded up to 0.2 g of rBoNTC(Hc)-C/kg cells. The final protein yield is a function of protein expression level during fermentation and the purification methods, and usually final protein yield between 0.1 and 2 mg/g cells is acceptable. Another concern is protein degradation. Especially with Pichia, protease activity during cell lysis and purification is always an issue. The importance of N-terminal degradation depends on product and its function. N-terminal sequencing revealed that the purified rBoNTC(Hc)-N is missing the first eight amino acids of the N-terminus of the protein, whereas the purified rBoNTC(Hc)-C protein is intact. After a mouse bioassay test, both the intact rBoNTC(Hc)-C and the rBoNTC(Hc)-N missing the first eight amino acids of the N-terminus have vaccine potency; consequently, partial degradation did not have an impact on these protein's utility.
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PMID:Purification of the N- and C-terminal subdomains of recombinant heavy chain fragment C of botulinum neurotoxin serotype C. 1795 36

A rapid lateral flow assay was developed to detect botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A). The assay was based on the sandwich format using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) of two distinct specificities. One anti-BoNT/A heavy chain MAb (150-3) was immobilized to a defined detection zone on a porous nitrocellulose membrane, while the other anti-BoNT/A heavy chain MAb (44.1) was conjugated to colloidal gold particles, which served as a detection reagent. The BoNT/A-containing sample was added to the strip and allowed to react with MAb (44.1)-coated particles. The mixture was then passed along the porous membrane by capillary action past the MAb (150-3) in the detection zone, which binds the particles that had BoNT/A bound to their surface, giving a red color within this detection zone with intensity proportional to BoNT/A concentration. In the absence of BoNT/A, no immunogold was bound to the solid-phase antibody. With this method, 50 ng/mL of BoNT/A were detected in less than 10 min. The assay sensitivity can be increased by silver enhancement to 1 ng/mL. The developed BoNT/A assay also showed no cross-reaction to type B neurotoxin (BoNT/B) and type E neurotoxin (BoNT/E).
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PMID:Monoclonal antibody-based lateral flow assay for detection of botulinum neurotoxin type A. 1829 74

A sensitive and specific ELISA was developed to detect BoNT/A in biological fluids. The assay is based on the sandwich format using monoclonal antibodies (MAb) of two distinct specificities. An affinity-purified anti-BoNT/A heavy chain MAb (150-3) is utilized to adsorb BoNT/A from solution; the second anti-BoNT/A heavy chain MAb (44-1A) conjugated with peroxidase is then used to form a sandwich. Peroxidase allows color development and measurement of optical density at 450 nm. Standard curves were linear over the range of 2.5 to 100 ng/mL BoNT/A. The limit of detection was below 5 ng/mL in assay buffer, as well as in a 1:10 dilution of urine or 1:50 dilution of human serum spiked with BoNT/A. The developed BoNT/A assay also showed no cross-reaction to type B neurotoxin (BoNT/B) and type E neurotoxin (BoNT/E).
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PMID:Monoclonal antibody-based enzyme immunoassay for detection of botulinum neurotoxin type A. 1829 76

Hyperexcitability disorders of cholinergically innervated muscles are treatable with botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) A. The seven serotypes (A-G) potently block neurotransmission by binding to presynaptic receptors, undergoing endocytosis, transferring to the cytosol, and inactivating proteins essential for vesicle fusion. Although BoNT/A and BoNT/E cleave SNAP-25, albeit at distinct sites, BoNT/E blocks neurotransmission faster and more potently. To identify the domains responsible for these characteristics, the C-terminal heavy chain portions of BoNT/A and BoNT/E were exchanged to create chimeras AE and EA. After high yield expression in Escherichia coli, these single chain chimeras were purified by two-step chromatography and activated by conversion to disulfide-linked dichains. In vitro, each entered neurons, cleaved SNAP-25, and blocked neuromuscular transmission while causing flaccid paralysis in vivo. Acidification-dependent translocation of the light chain to the cytosol occurred more rapidly for BoNT/E and EA than for BoNT/A and AE because the latter pair remained susceptible for longer to inhibitors of the vesicular proton pump, and BoNT/A proved less sensitive. The receptor-binding and protease domains do not seem to be responsible for the speeds of intoxication; rather the N-terminal halves of their heavy chains are implicated, with dissimilar rates of cytosolic transfer of the light chains being due to differences in pH sensitivity. AE produced the most persistent muscle weakening and therefore has therapeutic potential. Thus, proof of principle is provided for tailoring the pharmacological properties of these toxins by protein engineering.
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PMID:Novel chimeras of botulinum neurotoxins A and E unveil contributions from the binding, translocation, and protease domains to their functional characteristics. 1840 Jul 60

Currently, the only accepted assay with which to detect active Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin is an in vivo mouse bioassay. The mouse bioassay is sensitive and robust and does not require specialized equipment. However, the mouse bioassay is slow and not practical in many settings, and it results in the death of animals. Here, we describe an in vitro cleavage assay for SNAP-25 (synaptosome-associated proteins of 25 kDa) for measuring the toxin activity with the same sensitivity as that of the mouse bioassay. Moreover, this assay is far more rapid, can be automated and adapted to many laboratory settings, and has the potential to be used for toxin typing. The assay has two main steps. The first step consists of immunoseparation and concentration of the toxin, using immunomagnetic beads with monoclonal antibodies directed against the 100-kDa heavy chain subunit, and the second step consists of a cleavage assay targeting the SNAP-25 peptide of the toxin, labeled with fluorescent dyes and detected as a fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay. Our results suggest that the sensitivity of this assay is 10 pg/ml, which is similar to the sensitivity of the mouse bioassay, and this test can detect the activity of the toxin in carrot juice and beef. These results suggest that the assay has a potential use as an alternative to the mouse bioassay for analysis of C. botulinum type A neurotoxin.
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PMID:Development of an in vitro activity assay as an alternative to the mouse bioassay for Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type A. 1851 81

The World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have labeled botulinum toxins as a high priority biological agent that may be used in terrorist attacks against food supplies. Due to this threat there is an increased need to develop fast and effective methods to detect active botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs). This study reports the successful use of an enzymatic assay employing an internally quenched fluorogenic peptide as a fast, simple and inexpensive alternative to the mouse bioassay. In less than 15 min the assay can detect 0.25 nM BoNT-A in liquid food samples. The detection level is far below the adult human lethal oral dose of 70 microg of toxin. Immunomagnetic beads coated with IgG monoclonal antibodies that target the toxin heavy chain can concentrate the toxin without neutralizing its enzymatic activity, overcoming matrix effects caused by endogenous protease inhibitors and peptidases. This fast and effective assay system could be used for large scale screening to detect BoNT-A.
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PMID:Detection of botulinum neurotoxin-A activity in food by peptide cleavage assay. 1857 57

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) causes flaccid paralysis by disabling synaptic exocytosis. Intoxication requires the tri-modular protein to undergo conformational changes in response to pH and redox gradients across endosomes, leading to the formation of a protein-conducting channel. The approximately 50 kDa light chain (LC) protease is translocated into the cytosol by the approximately 100 kDa heavy chain (HC), which consists of two modules: the N-terminal translocation domain (TD) and the C-terminal Receptor Binding Domain (RBD). Here we exploited the BoNT modular design to identify the minimal requirements for channel activity and LC translocation in neurons. Using the combined detection of substrate proteolysis and single-channel currents, we showed that a di-modular protein consisting only of LC and TD was sufficient to translocate active protease into the cytosol of target cells. The RBD is dispensable for cell entry, channel activity, or LC translocation; however, it determined a pH threshold for channel formation. These findings indicate that, in addition to its individual functions, each module acts as a chaperone for the others, working in concert to achieve productive intoxication.
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PMID:Botulinum neurotoxin devoid of receptor binding domain translocates active protease. 1909 17

Clostridial botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) inhibit synaptic exocytosis; intoxication requires the di-chain protein to undergo conformational changes in response to pH and redox gradients across the endosomal membrane with consequent formation of a protein-conducting channel by the heavy chain (HC) that translocates the light chain (LC) protease into the cytosol, colocalizing it with the substrate SNARE proteins. We investigate the dynamics of protein translocation across membranes using a sensitive single-molecule assay to track translocation events with millisecond resolution on lipid bilayers and on membrane patches of Neuro 2A cells. Translocation of BoNT/A LC by the HC is observed in real time as changes of channel conductance: the channel is occluded by the light chain during transit, and open after completion of translocation and release of cargo, acting intriguingly similar to the protein-conducting/translocating channels of the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. Our findings support the notion of an interdependent, tight interplay between the HC transmembrane chaperone and the LC cargo that prevents LC aggregation and dictates the productive passage of cargo through the channel and completion of translocation. The protein-conducting channel of BoNT, a key element in the process of neurotoxicity, emerges therefore as a target for antidote discovery - a novel paradigm of paramount significance to health science and biodefense.
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PMID:Translocation of botulinum neurotoxin light chain protease by the heavy chain protein-conducting channel. 1911 65

A replication-incompetent adenoviral vector encoding the heavy chain C-fragment (H(C)50) of botulinum neurotoxin type C (BoNT/C) was evaluated as a mucosal vaccine against botulism in a mouse model. Single intranasal inoculation of the adenoviral vector elicited a high level of H(C)50-specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a in sera and IgA in mucosal secretions as early as 2 weeks after vaccination. The antigen-specific serum antibodies were maintained at a high level at least until the 27th week. Immune sera showed high potency in neutralizing BoNT/C as indicated by in vitro toxin neutralization assay. The mice receiving single dose of 2 x 10(7) p.f.u. (plaque-forming unit) of adenoviral vector were completely protected against challenge with up to 10(4) x MLD(50) of BoNT/C. The protective immunity showed vaccine dose dependence from 10(5) to 2 x 10(7) p.f.u. of adenoviral vector. In addition, animals receiving single intranasal dose of 2 x 10(7) p.f.u. adenoviral vector could be protected against 100 x MLD(50) 27 weeks after vaccination. Animals with preexisting immunity to adenovirus could also be vaccinated intranasally and protected against lethal challenge with BoNT/C. These results suggest that the adenoviral vector is a highly effective gene-based mucosal vaccine against botulism.
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PMID:An adenoviral vector-based mucosal vaccine is effective in protection against botulism. 1912 60

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is the causative agent of botulism, a neuroparalytic disease. We describe here a semisynthetic strategy to identify inhibitors based on toosendanin, a traditional Chinese medicine reported to protect from BoNT intoxication. Using a single molecule assay of BoNT serotypes A and E light chain (LC) translocation through the heavy chain (HC) channel in neurons, we discovered that toosendanin and its tetrahydrofuran analog selectively arrest the LC translocation step of intoxication with subnanomolar potency, and increase the unoccluded HC channel propensity to open with micromolar efficacy. The inhibitory profile on LC translocation is accurately recapitulated in 2 different BoNT intoxication assays, namely the mouse protection and the primary rat spinal cord cell assays. Toosendanin has an unprecedented dual mode of action on the protein-conducting channel acting as a cargo-dependent inhibitor of translocation and as cargo-free channel activator. These results imply that the bimodal modulation by toosendanin depends on the dynamic interactions between channel and cargo, highlighting their tight interplay during the progression of LC transit across endosomes.
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PMID:Bimodal modulation of the botulinum neurotoxin protein-conducting channel. 1916 66


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