Why Are Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria So Diverse and Botulinum Neurotoxins So Toxic?

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most lethal toxins among all bacterial, animal, plant and chemical poisonous compounds. Although a great effort has been made to understand their mode of action, some questions are still open. Why, and for what benefit, have environmental bacteria that accidenta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxins 2019-01, Vol.11 (1), p.34
Main Authors: Poulain, Bernard, Popoff, Michel R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteria
Bacteria - metabolism
Biodiversity
botulinum neurotoxins
Botulinum toxin
Botulinum Toxins - toxicity
Botulism
Chemical compounds
Clostridium botulinum
Disease
Exocytosis
Humans
Intoxication
Life Sciences
Mode of action
neuroexocytosis
Neurotoxins
Neurotoxins - toxicity
Physiology
Poisoning
Proteins
Review
SNARE proteins
Synaptic Vesicles - drug effects
Toxins
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Description
Summary:Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most lethal toxins among all bacterial, animal, plant and chemical poisonous compounds. Although a great effort has been made to understand their mode of action, some questions are still open. Why, and for what benefit, have environmental bacteria that accidentally interact with their host engineered so diverse and so specific toxins targeting one of the most specialized physiological processes, the neuroexocytosis of higher organisms? The extreme potency of BoNT does not result from only one hyperactive step, but in contrast to other potent lethal toxins, from multi-step activity. The cumulative effects of the different steps, each having a limited effect, make BoNTs the most potent lethal toxins. This is a unique mode of evolution of a toxic compound, the high potency of which results from multiple steps driven by unknown selection pressure, targeting one of the most critical physiological process of higher organisms.
ISSN:2072-6651
2072-6651
DOI:10.3390/toxins11010034