Three Dimensional Structure Determination of Botulinum Neurotoxin

Abstract

The immediate goals of the contract on the structure and function relationship of botulinum neurotoxin are: (1) Determine the three-dimensional structure of botulinum neurotoxin at atomic resolution by x-ray crystallography. (2) Based on the structure of the neurotoxin, understand the toxins mechanism of action. We have accomplished the first goal of determining the three-dimensional structure of the 150 kD botulinum neurotoxin serotype A. The toxin is Y-shaped, with a very long alpha-helical translocation domain forming the backbone of the structure. The translocation domain is composed almost entirely of helices, 2 of which are 95 A in length and form a pseudo-coiled coil. The binding domain and catalytic domain are more globular in shape, located at two different ends of the translocation domain. The overall dimensions of the protein are 120 A x 80 A x 40 A. A complete description of the three-dimensional structure is described in the report. Refinement and analysis of the structure are also included. To date, a total of 8 manuscripts have been published, and 3 Ph.D. thesis generated.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA368202

Entities

People

  • Raymond C. Stevens

Organizations

  • University of California, Berkeley

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biomedical And Dental Materials
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Crystal Structure
  • Medical Personnel
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Polymeric Films
  • Proteins
  • Sodium Compounds
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry