Inhibitor of anthrax toxin tested
A synthetic peptide inhibitor of anthrax toxin has
been designed and tested by a team of American researchers. Dr Michael
Mourez, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues say that there
is growing concern over the potential use of Bacillus anthracis,
the bacterium responsible for causing anthrax (an infection of the skin,
intestine and lungs), in biological warfare and terrorism.
B anthracis secretes three non-toxic proteins
that diffuse to the surface of mammalian cells and assemble into toxic,
cell-bound complexes. The researchers designed a peptide polymer that
prevents the assembly of the toxin complex in vitro and tested
the efficacy of this polymer in rats exposed to 10-times the minimum lethal
dose of toxin. They found that the polymer blocked the action of the toxin,
delaying symptoms and eliminating toxicity.
The researchers comment that, although a vaccine
against anthrax exists, mass vaccination is impractical. B anthracis
can be eradicated from the host by treatment with antibiotics. However,
treatment is of little value once symptoms are evident because of the
continuing action of the toxin released by the bacteria. “A specific inhibitor
of the toxin’s action might prove to be a valuable adjunct to antibiotic
therapy,” they say.
The study is published in Nature Biotechnology
(2001;19:958).
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