Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) naturally exist as components of protein complexes containing nontoxic proteins. The nontoxic proteins impart stability of BoNTs in the gastrointestinal tract and during purification and handling. The two primary neurotoxin complexes (TCs) are (i) TC1, consisting of BoNT, nontoxin-nonhemagglutinin (NTNH), and hemagglutinins (HAs), and (ii) TC2, consisting of BoNT and NTNH (and possibly OrfX proteins). In this study, BoNT/A subtypes A1, A2, A3, and A5 were examined for the compositions of their TCs in culture extracts using immunoprecipitation (IP). IP analyses showed that BoNT/A1 and BoNT/A5 form TC1s, while BoNT/A2 and BoNT/A3 form TC2s. A Clostridium botulinum host strain expressing recombinant BoNT/A4 (normally present as a TC2) from an extrachromosomal plasmid formed a TC1 with complexing proteins from the host strain, indicating that the HAs and NTNH encoded on the chromosome associated with the plasmid-encoded BoNT/A4. Strain NCTC 2916 (A1/silent B1), which carries both an ha silent bont/b cluster and an orfX bont/a1 cluster, was also examined. IP analysis revealed that NCTC 2916 formed only a TC2 containing BoNT/A1 and its associated NTNH. No association between BoNT/A1 and the nontoxic proteins from the silent bont/b cluster was detected, although the HAs were expressed as determined by Western blotting analysis. Additionally, NTNH and HAs from the silent bont/b cluster did not form a complex in NCTC 2916. The stabilities of the two types of TC differed at various pHs and with addition of KCl and NaCl. TC1 complexes were more stable than TC2 complexes. Mouse serum stabilized TC2, while TC1 was unaffected.
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by anaerobic, Gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria, including Clostridium botulinum and rare strains of Clostridium baratii and Clostridium butyricum. BoNTs are the most poisonous protein toxins known in nature, and they are classified as tier 1 category A select agents due to their potential use as bioterrorism agents (1). Purified BoNT is a protein with a molecular mass of ca. 150 kDa, consisting in its active form of a heavy chain (Hc) (Ïł100 kDa) and a light chain (Lc) (Ïł50 kDa) linked by a disulfide bond and noncovalent molecular interactions (2). The heavy chain contains two functional domains, a receptor binding domain and a translocation domain (3, 4), while the light chain is responsible for catalytic activity on SNARE substrates in the neuronal cell cytosol. BoNTs are distinguished immunologically into seven serotypes designated A to G based on toxin neutralization using homologous antitoxins (5). Recently, the existence of an eighth serotype, H, in a dual-toxin-producing strain of C. botulinum has been reported (5).Of the seven established serotypes, BoNT/A is of particular interest since it is the most potent BoNT, exhibits longer duration in humans than other serotypes, and is also implicated in most cases of human botulism in the continental United States (6, 7). Within serotype A, five subtypes of BoNT/A (A1 to A5) h...