Defending against anthrax: Cell membrane channels and drug design
From Q-Bio Seminar Series
By Dr. Ekaterina Nestorovich, Staff Scientist, National Institutes of Health
March 17, 2009
- Abstract
- Toxicity of many bacteria, including the ones that cause anthrax, is mediated by secreting proteins that form channels on the surfaces of the cells under attack. Then the bacteria inject toxins through the channels, resulting in a disease. In this lecture, we will talk about how particle fluxes through the channels are measured, and how understanding the channel structure provides a basis for directed antitoxins discovery, namely finding small molecules that are able to block the flux of the toxins through the channels, making the pathogens impotent.
Dr. Nestorovich will be introduced by Dr. Michael E. Wall, Staff Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
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