Disarming the botulinum neurotoxin
Thursday, February 23, 2012 - 18:30
in Biology & Nature
Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and the Medical School of Hannover in Germany recently discovered how the botulinum neurotoxin, a potential bioterrorism agent, survives the hostile environment in the stomach on its journey through the human body. Their study, published February 24 in Science, reveals the first 3D structure of a neurotoxin together with its bodyguard, a protein made simultaneously in the same bacterium. The bodyguard keeps the toxin safe through the gut, then lets go as the toxin enters the bloodstream. This new information also reveals the toxin's weak spot—a point in the process that can be targeted with new therapeutics.