Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1972 Dec;6(6):1003–1007. doi: 10.1128/iai.6.6.1003-1007.1972

Electron Microscopy of the Toxin and Hemagglutinin of Type A Clostridium botulinum

Daniel A Boroff 1,2, Sverker Nyberg 1,2, Stefan Höglund 1,2
PMCID: PMC419322  PMID: 4565051

Abstract

Electron micrographs of the toxin and the hemagglutinin of type A Clostridium botulinum showed the toxin to be either round or disclike particles of 4 to 4.5 nm. These particles could also be seen as arranged in long strands or tubules of 9 nm in width. The hemagglutinin appeared as a crystalloid monolayer of stacked particles of 9 nm forming regularly arranged structures of 20 nm. Seen in cross section, these structures appeared as tubules with a lumen of 9 nm. The regularity of the angle of 83° to the long axis of the structure in which the individual particles were arranged suggested that the hemagglutinins formed a helix with sufficient space within its coil to admit the strands of the toxins. A model of the possible arrangement of the toxin and the hemagglutinin in the native state is proposed.

Full text

PDF
1003

Images in this article

1005Image
on p.1005
1006Image
on p.1006
1006Image
on p.1006

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ACKERS G. K. MOLECULAR EXCLUSION AND RESTRICTED DIFFUSION PROCESSES IN MOLECULAR-SIEVE CHROMATOGRAPHY. Biochemistry. 1964 May;3:723–730. doi: 10.1021/bi00893a021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boroff D. A., Meloche H. P., Dasgupta B. R. Amino Acid Analysis of the Isolated and Purified Components from Crystalline Toxin of Clostridium botulinum Type A. Infect Immun. 1970 Nov;2(5):679–680. doi: 10.1128/iai.2.5.679-680.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. DUFF J. T., WRIGHT G. G., KLERER J., MOORE D. E., BIBLER R. H. Studies on immunity to toxins of Clostridium botulinum. I. A simplified procedure for isolation of type A toxin. J Bacteriol. 1957 Jan;73(1):42–47. doi: 10.1128/jb.73.1.42-47.1957. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DasGupta B. R., Boroff D. A. Chromatographic isolation of hemagglutinin-free neurotoxin from crystalline toxin of Clostridium botulinum type A. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1967 Dec 12;147(3):603–605. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(67)90024-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DasGupta B. R., Boroff D. A. Separation of toxin and hemagglutinin from crystalline toxin of Clostridium botulinum type A by anion exchange chromatography and determination of their dimensions by gel filtration. J Biol Chem. 1968 Mar 10;243(5):1065–1072. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dasgupta B. R., Boroff D. A., Rothstein E. Chromatographic fractionation of the crystalline toxin of Clostridium botulinum type A. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1966 Mar 22;22(6):750–756. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(66)90212-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kitamura M., Sakaguchi G. Dissociation and reconstitution of 12-S toxin of Clostridium botulinum type E. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1969 Dec 23;194(2):564–571. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(69)90118-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kitamura M., Sakaguchi S., Sakaguchi G. Dissociation of Clostridium botulinum type-E-toxin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Dec 29;29(6):892–897. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90305-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. SMITH C. W., METZGER J. F., ZACKS S. I., KASE A. Immune electron microscopy. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1960 Jun;104:336–338. doi: 10.3181/00379727-104-25827. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES