( identical binding surfaces on the same...)Anthrax inhibitor counteracts toxin, may lead to new therapeutics

identical binding surfaces on the same structure. The inhibitor designed by the Rensselaer-Toronto team is also polyvalent and recognizes these surface patterns on the anthrax toxin molecular structure, allowing it to bind at multiple sites and become four orders of magnitude more potent than an inhibitor that binds to a single site.

"Think about how two Lego blocks snap together. A brick with four studs can interlock with a brick with four holes. These bricks will grip together better than if they had only one stud and one hole," says Jeremy Mogridge, Canada Research Chair and assistant professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. "Furthermore, Lego works because the pattern of studs on one brick matches the pattern of holes on another."

Earlier work by other groups has shown that an inhibitor with a fixed pattern of chemical groups can recognize a protein with a similar fixed pattern of complementary groups. In this study, the team demonstrated that a therapeutic inhibitor displaying random patterns can recognize a target if its statistical characteristics match those of the toxin target. According to the researchers, endowing inhibitors with statistical pattern-matching capabilities is less difficult than designing inhibitors with fixed structures.

"The pattern matching-based approach used by our research team to neutralize anthrax toxin should be broadly applicable in designing potent therapeutics for a variety of pathogens and toxins, including influenza and HIV," says Kane.

The researchers tested their pattern-matching strategy by designing a polyvalent inhibitor for cholera toxin, demonstrating that this approach also could be used successfully to enhance the potency of polyvalent inhibitors directed to this target and, they suggest, others. They note the work also could be useful for creating specific target recognition in biological sensors.

The team says their work demonstrates fo
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Source:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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