Clostridial neurotoxins as tools to investigate the molecular events of neurotransmitter release

The clostridial neurotoxins responsible for tetanus and botulism are eight different proteins, composed of two disulfide-linked polypeptide chains. They bind specifically to the presynaptic membrane via the heavy chain, while the light chain enters the cytosol of the neurons, where it displays a zinc-endopeptidase activity directed to proteins of the neuroexocytosis apparatus. Tetanus neurotoxin and botulinum neurotoxin serotypes B, D, F and G cleave specifically and at single different peptide bonds VAMP/synaptobrevin, a component of small synaptic vesicles. In contrast, the other neurotoxins catalyze the hydrolysis of proteins of the presynaptic membrane. Serotypes A and E of botulinum neurotoxin cleave SNAP-25, at different sites located within the carboxyl-terminus, while the specific target of serotype C is syntaxin.