Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
SpringerLink
Log in

Clostridial Neurotoxins

The Molecular Pathogenesis of Tetanus and Botulism

  • Book
  • © 1995

Overview

Editors:
  1. Cesare Montecucco

    1. Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italia

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology (CT MICROBIOLOGY, volume 195)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XI
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Ecology of Neurotoxigenic Strains of Clostridia

    • M. R. Popoff
    Pages 1-29

  3. The Present Status of Tetanus and Tetanus Vaccination

    • A. Galazka, F. Gasse
    Pages 31-53

  4. Botulism: The Present Status of the Disease

    • C. L. Hatheway
    Pages 55-75

  5. Cellular Immunology of Tetanus Toxoid

    • G. Corradin, C. Watts
    Pages 77-87

  6. Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy of Tetanus and Botulinum Neurotoxins

    • J. L. Middlebrook, J. E. Brown
    Pages 89-122

  7. Clinical Use of Botulinum Neurotoxins

    • F. Cardoso, J. Jankovic
    Pages 123-141

  8. Growth of Clostridia and Preparation of Their Neurotoxins

    • C. C. Shone, H. S. Tranter
    Pages 143-160

  9. Molecular Genetics of Clostridial Neurotoxins

    • N. P. Minton
    Pages 161-194

  10. Neuroexocytosis

    • F. Benfenati, F. Valtorta
    Pages 195-219

  11. Neurospecific Binding, Internalization, and Retrograde Axonal Transport

    • J. L. Halpern, E. A. Neale
    Pages 221-241

  12. Quantal Neurotransmitter Release and the Clostridial Neurotoxins’ Targets

    • B. Poulain, J. Molgó, S. Thesleff
    Pages 243-255

  13. Intracellular Targets and Metalloprotease Activity of Tetanus and Botulism Neurotoxins

    • G. Schiavo, O. Rossetto, F. Tonello, C. Montecucco
    Pages 257-274

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 275-280
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

Tetanus has been known from the very beginning of medical literature since it was first described by Hyppocrates of Cos in the fifth century B.C. For 24 centuries it was considered a neuro­ logical disease until the breakthrough of CARLE and RATIONE (1884) who demonstrated its infectious etiology. Following the establishment of purified cultures of Clostridium tetani(KITASATO 1889), FABER (1890), and TIZZONI and CATIANI (1890) demon­ strated that the disease is actually an intoxication caused by a proteic neurotoxin. This toxin was shown by BRUSHCHETIINI (1892) to move retroaxonally and to act at the spinal cord level. Soon thereafter VAN ERMENGEN (1897) demonstrated that botu­ lism is also due to intoxication with a protein toxin produced by bacteria of the genus Clostridium. These bacteria and their spores and ubiquitous, and the majority of them do not produce neurotoxins. The selective advantage of producing such potent toxin is still a matter of speculation (see Popoff, this volume). The next major advance was the discovery that tetanus neurotoxin 1 can be converted by formaldehyde treatment to a nonpathogenic but still fully immunogenic form, and that this can be used successfully as a vaccine to prevent tetanus (RAMON and DESCOMBEY 1925). Similar vaccines (toxoids) can be prepared with botulism neurotoxins (see MiDDLEBROOK and BROWN, this volume). The prevention oftetanus by vaccination (see Galatzka and Gasse, this volume) is one of the great successes of basic research coupled with an efficient public medicine service.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italia

    Cesare Montecucco

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Clostridial Neurotoxins

  • Book Subtitle: The Molecular Pathogenesis of Tetanus and Botulism

  • Editors: Cesare Montecucco

  • Series Title: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85173-5

  • Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE, part of Springer Nature 1995

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-642-85175-9Published: 13 November 2013

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-642-85173-5Published: 11 November 2013

  • Series ISSN: 0070-217X

  • Series E-ISSN: 2196-9965

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 280

  • Number of Illustrations: 16 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Immunology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation