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Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. [24] It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction , thus causing flaccid paralysis . [ 25 ]
Along with some strains of Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii, these bacteria all produce the toxin. [2] Botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans and other animals, [3] and is the most potent toxin known to science, natural or synthetic, with a lethal dose of 1.3–2.1 ng/kg in humans. [4] [5]
In all cases, illness is caused by the botulinum toxin which the bacterium C. botulinum produces in anaerobic conditions and not by the bacterium itself. The pattern of damage occurs because the toxin affects nerves that fire (depolarize) at a higher frequency first. [12] Mechanisms of entry into the human body for botulinum toxin are described ...
They may exert their effect locally or produce systemic effects. Well-known exotoxins include: botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum; Corynebacterium diphtheriae toxin, produced during life-threatening symptoms of diphtheria; tetanospasmin produced by Clostridium tetani.
The Clostridium botulinum bacteria are the cause of botulism. Vegetative cells of C. botulinum may be ingested. Introduction of the bacteria may also occur via endospores in a wound. When the bacteria are in vivo, they induce flaccid paralysis. This happens because C. botulinum produces a toxin that blocks the release of acetylcholine.
Common examples of neurotoxins include lead, [7] ethanol (drinking alcohol), [8] glutamate, [9] nitric oxide, [10] botulinum toxin (e.g. Botox), [11] tetanus toxin, [12] and tetrodotoxin. [6] Some substances such as nitric oxide and glutamate are in fact essential for proper function of the body and only exert neurotoxic effects at excessive ...
Some bacteria secrete exotoxins, which have a wide range of effects, including inhibiting certain biochemical pathways in the host. The two most potent known exotoxins [4] are the tetanus toxin (tetanospasmin) secreted by Clostridium tetani and the botulinum toxin secreted by Clostridium botulinum.
The tetanus toxin damages vesicle-associated membrane proteins (VAMP), a type of v-SNARE, while botulinum toxins damage t-SNARES and v-SNARES and thus inhibit synaptic transmission. [6] A spider toxin called alpha-Latrotoxin binds to neurexins, damaging vesicles and causing massive release of neurotransmitters. [citation needed]