Scripps researchers identify botulism-fighting molecules
One compound extends survival time by thirty-six percent; sixteen percent of mice treated with the second molecule survived with no obvious symptoms
It is not exactly the FBI’s most wanted list, but if photographs of biological weapons were plastered onto post office walls, Clostridium botulinum would be in a prominent position as among the six highest-risk bioterrorism agents identified by the Centers for Disease Control. Unfortunately, very few treatments are avilable for botulinim poisoining (although the toxin itself is used as a treatment for various things, including vanity). Fortunately, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute and the University of Wisconsin may have hit on a solution. In a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, they identified two small, unidentified molecules which show promising activity against the neurotoxin.
Using a multifaceted screening approach, the researchers identified the two compounds and tested their efficacy in both cell-based assays and in mice exposed to the toxin. One compound extended survival time by thirty-six percent, while sixteen percent of the animals treated with the second molecule survived with no obvious symptoms of botulism. “These small molecules are the first to show efficacy against this neurotoxin in animal models,” said Scripps’s Kim Janda. “Equally important, both have surprisingly simple structures, so their biological activity can be readily optimized. With their different modes of action, they could easily be developed as part of a potent ‘cocktail’ therapy.”
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.
-read more in this university news release
