Gangliosides are the binding substances in neural cells for tetanus and botulinum toxins in mice.
We used the knockout mice lacking gangliosides and evaluated their response to tetanus and botulinum toxins. We found that tetanus toxin and botulinum type A or B toxin was less toxic in the knockout mice. We conclude that the toxins bind to the gangliosides on the synapses in the initial step of intoxication prior to penetration of the toxins into the neural cells.
Kitamura
M
M
Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (Former National Institute of Health), 1-23-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan. kmasaru@nih.go.jp
Takamiya
K
K
Aizawa
S
S
Furukawa
K
K
Furukawa
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*; D013744:Tetanus Toxin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
D005732:Gangliosides; D013744:Tetanus Toxin; D001905:Botulinum Toxins