Smileband Health issues

Bacillus anthracis and anthrax

Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium, and is the causative agent of anthrax, an acute, rapidly progressing infectious disease that affects both animals and humans. B. anthracisforms spores after the death of infected hosts. The spores can remain dormant for many years in soil and begin to grow again and secrete toxins after gaining entry into susceptible hosts. The B. anthracis spore, the infectious form of the pathogen, has long been considered as a potential warfare agent and has been a top bioterrorism concern since the 2001 anthrax attacks in the USA   

A Lethal Combination

Anthrax is caused by an unusually large bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. Once its spores lodge in the skin or in the lungs, it rapidly begins growth and produces a deadly three-part toxin. These toxins are designed for maximum lethality, and are frighteningly effective. Part of the toxin is a delivery mechanism that seeks out cells; another part is a toxic enzyme that rapidly kills the cell. In anthrax toxin, there is one delivery molecule, termed "protective antigen" because of its use in anthrax vaccines.   

Keeping Deadly Company

These types of multiple-part toxins are quite common in the bacterial world because they are exquisitely effective. Many other examples, such as toxins from the bacteria that cause cholera and whooping cough, may be found in the PDB. The delivery component specifically seeks out cell surfaces and inserts the toxic component where it can do the most damage. The toxic component is far more effective than poisons like cyanide and arsenic. Those poisons attack one-on-one, with a single cyanide molecule poisoning a single protein molecule. But toxic enzymes are compact cell-killing machines. Once inside the cell, they hop from molecule to molecule, destroying each in turn. These molecules are so effective that in some cases a single molecule can kill an entire cell.