Anthrax lethal toxin exerts potent metabolic inhibition of the cardiovascular system.

ABSTRACT: Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax through a combination of bacterial infection and toxemia. As a major virulence factor of B. anthracis, anthrax lethal toxin (LT) is a zinc-dependent metalloproteinase, exerting its cytotoxicity through proteolytic cleavage of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases, thereby shutting down the MAPK pathways. Anthrax lethal toxin induces host lethality mostly by targeting the cardiovascular system. Although the enzymatic activity and the molecular targets of LT have long been known, the detailed mechanisms underlying cellular/tissue/organ toxicity are still poorly understood. In this work, we sought to investigate the mechanism of LT-induced cellular damage in the cardiovascular system. We demonstrate for the first time that anthrax lethal

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11633152 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature