Evolved Proteases Selectively Cleave Target Sequences, Unlock Potential of âProteome Editingâ
February 26, 2021
Engineered botulinum toxin could lead to new treatments for a range of maladies, including nerve and brain damage, muscle injury, and rampant inflammation.
[The Liu lab]
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Clostridium botulinum bacteria is responsible for producing botulinum toxin. As botox, it can remove wrinkles. It can also be the reason for a lethal human infection. Also known as the “miracle poison,” botulinum toxin has been approved by the FDA to treat a suite of maladies like chronic migraines, uncontrolled blinking, and certain muscle spasms.
Now, researchers have, for the first time, evolved botulinum neurotoxin proteases to selectively cleave new targets, including a protein unrelated to those natively cleaved by these proteases. In doing so, they have created a suite of bespoke, super-selective proteases with the potential to aid in neuroregeneration, regulate growth hor
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IMAGE: Liu and his lab engineered botulinum toxin to target new proteins, a critical advance that could lead to new treatments for a range of maladies, including nerve and brain damage,. view more
Credit: Casey Atkins Photography, courtesy of Broad Institute
When people hear botulinum toxin, they often think one of two things: a cosmetic that makes frown lines disappear or a deadly poison.
But the miracle poison, as it s also known, has been approved by the F.D.A. to treat a suite of maladies like chronic migraines, uncontrolled blinking, and certain muscle spasms. And now, a team of researchers from Harvard University and the Broad Institute have, for the first time, proved they could rapidly evolve the toxin in the laboratory to target a variety of different proteins, creating a suite of bespoke, super-selective proteins called proteases with the potential to aid in neuroregeneration, regulate growth hormones, calm rampant inflammation, or dampen the life-