Direct visualization of botulinum neurotoxin-induced channels in phospholipid vesicles
- 1 August 1993
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature
- Vol. 364 (6440) , 827-830
- https://doi.org/10.1038/364827a0
Abstract
The seven botulinum neurotoxin (NT) serotypes produced by strains of Clostridium botulinum inhibit neurotransmitter release from synaptic vesicles. Neurotoxin is synthesized as a roughly 150K single-chain protein. Proteolysis produces two fragments, the 50K L-chain and 100K H-chain, that remain linked by a disulphide bond. Intoxication involves membrane attachment by the C-terminal half of the H-chain, endocytotic/lysosomal internalization, vesicle channel formation mediated by the 50K N-terminal half of the H-chain at low pH, and finally blockade of synaptic vesicle fusion after the L-chain reaches the cytosol. We report here the visualization of the neurotoxin-membrane complex by electron cryomicroscopy and image processing. Three-dimensional reconstructions show the neurotoxin bound to the exterior of ganglioside/PC lipid vesicles and show channels entirely perforating the vesicle wall. Each channel appears to arise from the interaction of four neurotoxin molecules.Keywords
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