Protein Fragments Protect Against Botulinum Toxin

Investigators at the University of Wisconsin (Madison, USA; www.wisc.edu) employed both tissue culture and animal experiments to identify the protein component.

The investigators reported in a study published in the September 29, 2003, issue of the Journal of Cell Biology that they used gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches to show that the secretory vesicle proteins, synaptotagmins (syts) I and II, mediated the entry of BoNT/B (but not BoNT/A or E) into PC12 tissue culture cells. They also demonstrated that BoNT/B entry into PC12 cells and rat diaphragm motor nerve terminals was activity dependent and could be blocked using fragments of syt II that contain the BoNT/B-binding domain. Finally, they showed that syt II fragments, in conjunction with gangliosides, neutralized BoNT/B in intact mice.

Senior author Dr. Edwin Chapman, professor of physiology at the University of Wisconsin explained, "The fragments are a protective agent, a scavenger, that prevents the toxin from reaching its target.”



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