Crystal structures of type B botulinum neurotoxin, determined under conditions relevant to the extracellular binding and intracellular substrate cleavage steps of its toxic action, reveal that minimal structural changes occur upon binding a ganglioside or after substrate cleavage. The unique structure of this toxin provides information for developing preventive measures against botulism.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank S. Cai for his assistance in preparing figures. The work was supported by grants from the NIH and the Dreyfus Foundation.
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Singh, B. Intimate details of the most poisonous poison. Nat Struct Mol Biol 7, 617–619 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/77900
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/77900
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