Botulinum Toxin Structure Offers Clues For Vaccines, Treatments

By deciphering the near atomic-level structure of the catalytic domain of botulinum toxin type E — one of seven neurotoxins that cause botulism, a disease that paralyzes victims by blocking nerve cells’ ability to communicate — scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory are one step closer to a potential vaccine or treatment. Structures of the toxin and a related non-toxic version that differs by just one amino acid appear in the June 1, 2004 issue of the journal Biochemistry, available online May 8, 2004.