Engineering of Botulinum Neurotoxins for Biomedical Applications

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) have been used as therapeutic agents in the clinical treatment of a wide array of neuromuscular and autonomic neuronal transmission disorders. These toxins contain three functional domains that mediate highly specific neuronal cell binding, internalization and cytosolic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxins 2018-06, Vol.10 (6), p.231
Main Author: Webb, Robert P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alternative binding domain
Autonomic nervous system
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical materials
Botulinum toxin
Botulism
Chemical bonds
Chemical compounds
Chemical synthesis
chimeric BoNT
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Disorders
DNA
DNA biosynthesis
Domains
drug delivery
engineered toxin
Exocytosis
Growth factors
Internalization
Martinez, A
Military personnel
Molecular biology
Neurotoxins
Neurotransmitters
Pharmacology
Proteins
Proteolysis
Proteolytic enzymes
re-targeted BoNT
recombinant botulinum toxin
Review
Toxins
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Summary:Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) have been used as therapeutic agents in the clinical treatment of a wide array of neuromuscular and autonomic neuronal transmission disorders. These toxins contain three functional domains that mediate highly specific neuronal cell binding, internalization and cytosolic delivery of proteolytic enzymes that cleave proteins integral to the exocytosis of neurotransmitters. The exceptional cellular specificity, potency and persistence within the neuron that make BoNTs such effective toxins, also make them attractive models for derivatives that have modified properties that could potentially expand their therapeutic repertoire. Advances in molecular biology techniques and rapid DNA synthesis have allowed a wide variety of novel BoNTs with alternative functions to be assessed as potential new classes of therapeutic drugs. This review examines how the BoNTs have been engineered in an effort to produce new classes of therapeutic molecules to address a wide array of disorders.
ISSN:2072-6651
2072-6651
DOI:10.3390/toxins10060231