Botulinum Toxin (IMAGE)

University of California - Irvine

Botulinum Toxin

Caption

Botulinum toxin (Botox) is a large protein that is composed of three domains (upper right corner, crystal structure shown in yellow, green, and pink). The new study reveals a novel mechanism by which the toxin hijacks three receptors on the host neuronal surface as its "GPS" -- the peptide moiety of protein SV2 (green-blue ribbon model), a conserved glycan modification of SV2 (green and light blue sticks), and a lipid (brown sticks) -- to launch its attack.

Credit

Rongsheng Jin and Guorui Yao / UCI

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