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Structural biology

Anthrax hijacks host receptor

Nature volume 430, pages 843–844 (2004)Cite this article

An atomic picture of how anthrax toxin binds to its host's cells reveals that the toxin commandeers a host receptor protein and tricks it into helping the toxin enter the cell.

In 2001, Bacillus anthracis made headlines when US Senators Thomas Daschle and Patrick Leahy received letters containing anthrax spores, highlighting the urgent need for an effective treatment against the bacterium. Once exposed to B. anthracis, the only treatment available involves a 60-day course of antibiotics that have unpleasant side-effects1. The race to develop more palatable alternatives that will work at any stage of infection is now focusing on anthrax toxin, the protein complex responsible for the bacterium's lethal effects.

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Figure 1: Throwing the anthrax switch.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita, 67260-0051, Kansas, USA

    James G. Bann

  2. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, 63110, Missouri, USA

    Scott J. Hultgren

Authors
  1. James G. Bann
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  2. Scott J. Hultgren
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Bann, J., Hultgren, S. Anthrax hijacks host receptor. Nature 430, 843–844 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/430843a

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