Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A is initially released from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum as a stable 900-kDa complex. The serotype A 900-kDa complex is one of the forms of the toxin being used as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of various neuromuscular disorders. Previous experiments have demonstrated that the 900-kDa complex form of the toxin protects the toxin from the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. To provide molecular level details of the stability and equilibrium of the 900-kDa complex, the nontoxic component, and the toxic (botulinum neurotoxin) component, the three species have been investigated with a series of biophysical techniques at the molecular level (dynamic light scattering, proteolysis, circular dichroism, pH incubations, and agglutination assays). These experiments were conducted under harsh conditions which mimic those found along the gastrointestinal tract. Separately, exposure to denaturing and proteolytic conditions degrades both the botulinum neurotoxin and the nontoxic component. In the 900-kDa complex, the botulinum neurotoxin is protected during exposure to the gastrointestinal environment and the nontoxic component is slightly modified. Surprisingly, the toxin protects the ability of the nontoxic component to agglutinate erythrocytes. Contrary to previous reports, the purified 900-kDa complex did not have agglutination ability until after exposure to the proteolytic conditions. These experiments provide new evidence and detail for the theory that the nontoxic component and the toxic component protect one another during exposure to harsh conditions, and a molecular model is presented for the passage of the toxin through the gastrointestinal tract.

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