Journal of Toxicology

Medical Applications of Clostridia and Clostridial Toxins


Publishing date
04 May 2012
Status
Published
Submission deadline
16 Dec 2011

Lead Editor

1Integrated Toxicology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD 21702-5011, USA

2Biochemistry Department, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Amherst, MA 01003, USA


Medical Applications of Clostridia and Clostridial Toxins

Description

Clostridia are anaerobic spore-forming bacteria found throughout the environment in various oxygen-free habitats. While the bacterial genus Clostridium contains over 100 species, approximately 20 are known to cause disease in humans and animals, with most pathologic effects caused by toxins or enzymes released by germinating spores. The diseases caused by Clostridia are as diverse as the toxins they produce and include botulism, gas gangrene, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The same characteristics that make Clostridia excellent pathogens have also made the Clostridia an abundant source for development of pharmacological agents. Perhaps the most well-known example type A Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT/A) is produced by Clostridium botulinum and used to treat many conditions such as focal dystonias, spasticity, migraines, hemifacial spasms, and other conditions that do not respond to other pharmacological treatments. Although less well known, other clostridial toxins are being used or being studied for their applicability to treat collagen-associated diseases, wound debridement, and cancer. In addition to their protein toxins, the bacteria itself provide an excellent oncolytic agent in which nonpathogenic Clostridia are engineered to contain oncolytic genes. The anerobic clostridia seek the oxygen-reduced environment of the tumor and then release factors that kill the tumor cells.The ability to engineer clostridia or its toxins to target specific cells and tissues will lead to the development of new therapeutics that are specific and effective. The emphasis of this special issue will focus on the design of novel therapeutics based upon clostridia or clostridial toxins. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Enzymatic (toxic) chain moieties that disrupt specific cellular events. An example would be the use of C. botulinum neurotoxin light chains to inhibit SNARE-mediated secretion
  • Delivery vehicles that target drugs to specific cells or tissues. An example would be the use of clostridial neurotoxin heavy chains to target drugs to neuronal cells
  • Toxin fragments to treat specific diseases and tissue damage. Examples include C. difficile toxin, a fragments to treat colon and pancreatic cancers
  • Hypoxia-activated enzyme therapy. Examples include tumor therapeutics

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jt/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable:


Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 678963
  • - Editorial

Medical Applications of Clostridia and Clostridial Toxins

Martha L. Hale | Shuowei Cai | S. Ashraf Ahmed
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 648384
  • - Clinical Study

Application of Purified Botulinum Type A Neurotoxin to Treat Experimental Trigeminal Neuropathy in Rats and Patients with Urinary Incontinence and Prostatic Hyperplasia

Yoshizo Matsuka | Teruhiko Yokoyama | ... | Keiji Oguma
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 862764
  • - Review Article

Clostridial Spores for Cancer Therapy: Targeting Solid Tumour Microenvironment

Brittany Umer | David Good | ... | Ming Q. Wei
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 159726
  • - Review Article

Kinetic and Reaction Pathway Analysis in the Application of Botulinum Toxin A for Wound Healing

Frank J. Lebeda | Zygmunt F. Dembek | Michael Adler
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 760142
  • - Research Article

Retargeting Clostridium difficile Toxin B to Neuronal Cells as a Potential Vehicle for Cytosolic Delivery of Therapeutic Biomolecules to Treat Botulism

Greice Krautz-Peterson | Yongrong Zhang | ... | Charles B. Shoemaker
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 981626
  • - Review Article

Use of Clostridium perfringens Enterotoxin and the Enterotoxin Receptor-Binding Domain (C-CPE) for Cancer Treatment: Opportunities and Challenges

Zhijian Gao | Bruce A. McClane
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2012
  • - Article ID 802893
  • - Review Article

Therapeutic Use of Botulinum Toxin in Neurorehabilitation

Domenico Intiso
Journal of Toxicology
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Acceptance rate15%
Submission to final decision117 days
Acceptance to publication16 days
CiteScore5.800
Journal Citation Indicator0.670
Impact Factor2.9
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