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review article
Anthrax toxin: the long and winding road that leads to the kill
The past five years have led to a tremendous increase in our molecular understanding of the mode of action of the anthrax toxin, one of the two main virulence factors produced by Bacillus anthracis. The structures of each of the three components of the toxin--lethal factor (LF), edema factor (EF) and protective antigen (PA)--have been solved not only in their monomeric forms but, depending on the subunit, in a heptameric form, bound to their substrate, co-factor or receptor. The endocytic route followed by the toxin has also been unraveled and the enzymatic mechanisms of EF and LF elucidated.
Type
review article
Authors
Publication date
2005
Publisher
Published in
Volume
13
Issue
2
Start page
72
End page
8
Peer reviewed
NON-REVIEWED
EPFL units
Available on Infoscience
July 29, 2010
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