美筛选出有效防护生物毒素的新型化合物

 
根据一项最先研究报道，几种候选小分子物质，具有防护使用肉毒杆菌神经毒素作为生物武器进行恐怖袭击的作用。

美国Scripps研究院(La Jolla, CA, USA)和Wisconsin大学(Madison, WI, USA)的研究人员，鉴别了2种化合物并检测了它们对暴露于毒素的细胞培养和小鼠的作用。这两种化合物结构令人惊奇的简单，十分有利于进行改造以提高生物活性。其中一种化合物将暴露于毒素小鼠的存活时间提高了36%(从484分钟增加到659分钟)。使用第二种化合物的动物有16%没有出现明显的肉毒杆菌中毒症状。这两种化合物在细胞检测时显得活性很小，提示标准的细胞培养为基础的筛选方法，可能会遗漏有前景的治疗候选药物。这两种化合物都没有观察到显著的副作用。
 
New Compounds Show Promise Against Bioweapon Toxins
 
Several small molecule candidates have the potential to provide protection against a possible bioterrorism attack using botulinum neurotoxins, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) and the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI, USA) identified the two compounds and tested their efficacy in both cell-based assays and in mice exposed to the toxin. The two compounds have surprisingly simple molecular structures and are readily amenable to optimization efforts for improvements in their biologic activity. One of the compounds extended survival time of the exposed mice by 36% (from 484 minutes to 659 minutes). Moreover, 16% of the animals treated with the second molecule survived with no obvious symptoms of botulism. The two compounds showed little activity in cellular assays, suggesting that standard cell-based screening methods may miss promising therapeutic candidates. No significant side effects were observed with either molecule.