The role of the single interchains disulfide bond in tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins and the development of antitetanus and antibotulism drugs.
Cell Microbiol
; 21(11): e13037, 2019 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31050145
ABSTRACT
A large number of bacterial toxins consist of active and cell binding protomers linked by an interchain disulfide bridge. The largest family of such disulfide-bridged exotoxins is that of the clostridial neurotoxins that consist of two chains and comprise the tetanus neurotoxins causing tetanus and the botulinum neurotoxins causing botulism. Reduction of the interchain disulfide abolishes toxicity, and we discuss the experiments that revealed the role of this structural element in neuronal intoxication. The redox couple thioredoxin reductase-thioredoxin (TrxR-Trx) was identified as the responsible for reduction of this disulfide occurring on the cytosolic surface of synaptic vesicles. We then discuss the very relevant finding that drugs that inhibit TrxR-Trx also prevent botulism. On this basis, we propose that ebselen and PX-12, two TrxR-Trx specific drugs previously used in clinical trials in humans, satisfy all the requirements for clinical tests aiming at evaluating their capacity to effectively counteract human and animal botulism arising from intestinal toxaemias such as infant botulism.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tetanus Toxin
/
Thioredoxins
/
Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase
/
Botulinum Toxins, Type A
/
Disulfides
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Cell Microbiol
Journal subject:
MICROBIOLOGIA
Year:
2019
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy