Neuropharmacological Characterization of Botulinum Neurotoxin.

Abstract

Studies have been done in three general areas: (i) study of the mechanism of action of botulinum neurotoxin, (ii) identification of drugs that antagonize botulinum neurotoxin action, and (iii) extension of basic science studies on toxin action to the human nervous system. The two principal tissue preparations used were the mouse phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm and the human pyramidalis muscle. The major findings were: (i) stimulation of transglutaminase activity is not likely to be relevant to clostridial toxin action, (ii) zinc chelators, such as TPEN, are intracellular antagonists of all clostridial neurotoxins, (iii) inihibitors of vascuolar adenosine triphosphatase, such as bafilomycin, antagonize all clostridial neurotoxins but not phospholipase A2 neurotoxins, and (iv) human neuromuscular junctions are sensitive to all botulinum serotypes associated with natural poisoning (e.g. , A, B, and E), and they are also sensitive to one serotype that is not typically associated with natural poisoning (e.g., C).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 22, 1994
Accession Number
ADA288960

Entities

People

  • Lance L. Simpson

Organizations

  • Thomas Jefferson University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amines
  • Amino Acids
  • Cell Membrane
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Central Nervous System
  • Chemistry
  • Cultured Cells
  • Cytoplasmic Vesicles
  • Endocrine System
  • Gel Electrophoresis
  • Medical Personnel
  • Membrane Lipids
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Nervous System
  • Peripheral Nervous System
  • Synapses

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Microbial Pathology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry