Botulinum Toxin Structure Offers Clues for Vaccines, Treatments.

(From AScribe)

UPTON, N.Y. -- 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 for the disease. 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.

"Botulinum neurotoxins are the most toxic substances (by weight) known to humankind," said Brookhaven biologist Subramanyam Swaminathan, who leads the research team. "Because botulism is such a dreadful disease, and there are no current treatments, it creates great fear among people concerned about bioterror agents. That is …