Anthrax Protective Antigen Oligomerization Regulates Toxin Activity

Endocytic Uptake into Mammalian Cells during Antigen and Binding of Lethal Factor Oligomerization of Anthrax Toxin Protective

Anthrax Toxin Receptor Drives Protective Antigen Oligomerization and Stabilizes the Heptameric and Octameric Oligomer by a Similar Mechanism

BACKGROUND Anthrax toxin is comprised of protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF), and edema factor (EF). These proteins are individually nontoxic; however, when PA assembles with LF and EF, it produces lethal toxin and edema toxin, respectively. Assembly occurs either on cell surfaces or in plasma. In each milieu, PA assembles into a mixture of heptameric and octameric complexes that bind L...

Plant-based vaccine: mice immunized with chloroplast-derived anthrax protective antigen survive anthrax lethal toxin challenge.

The currently available human vaccine for anthrax, derived from the culture supernatant of Bacillus anthracis, contains the protective antigen (PA) and traces of the lethal and edema factors, which may contribute to adverse side effects associated with this vaccine. Therefore, an effective expression system that can provide a clean, safe, and efficacious vaccine is required. In an effort to pro...

Mutant anthrax toxin B moiety (protective antigen) inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth.

Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA), the B subunit of the binary anthrax toxin, binds to the cellular receptors capillary morphogenesis gene 2 protein and tumor endothelial marker 8 with high affinity. Both receptors are expressed on endothelial cells during angiogenesis. We sought to determine whether one could inhibit angiogenesis by interfering with the binding of these receptors to t...

A model of anthrax toxin lethal factor bound to protective antigen.

Anthrax toxin is made up of three proteins: the edema factor (EF), lethal factor (LF) enzymes, and the multifunctional protective antigen (PA). Proteolytically activated PA heptamerizes, binds the EF/LF enzymes, and forms a pore that allows for EF/LF passage into host cells. Using directed mutagenesis, we identified three LF-PA contact points defined by a specific disulfide crosslink and two pa...