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Toxins
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Biotoxins: Innovative Research Tools to Treat Neuropathologies and Investigate Neurophysiology—In...
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Biotoxins: Innovative Research Tools to Treat Neuropathologies and Investigate Neurophysiology—In Memory of Professor Matteo Caleo

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 4177

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Restani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: physiopathology of synapses; clostridial neurotoxins; cortical plasticity; epilepsy; visual system; motor system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eleonora Vannini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy
2. Centro Pisano Ricerca e Implementazione Clinica Flash Radiotherapy “CPFR@CISUP”, “S. Chiara” Hospital, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: neuroncology; epilepsy; cortical plasticity; visual system; bacterial toxins
Dr. Cristina Spalletti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: neural plasticity; motor system; neurorehabilitation; stroke; glioblastoma; Parkinson’s disease; non-invasive brain stimulation; inhibitory system; nutraceutic
Dr. Claudia Alia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: neural plasticity; motor system; stroke; cell-based therapy; neural transplants; social behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Professor Matteo Caleo, a bright neuroscientist and an excellent mentor, passed away on 12 April 2022. As his legacy, he left to his close young colleagues and the entire scientific community his unique way to approach neurosciences. Among his greatest scientific goals, he broke the current understanding about the mechanisms of action of botulinum neurotoxins, thus initiating the idea of a direct central action of botulinum neurotoxin type A. In parallel, he exploited different biotoxins to investigate the physiopathological underpinnings of a wide range of neuropathologies, from epilepsy to cancer, and his work has had a significant impact on the study of toxins and their potential applications. This Special Issue will provide a timely opportunity to pay tribute to Professor Caleo’s memory and to inspire senior and young neuroscientists. Submissions of original clinical and pre-clinical research and review articles are welcome. Papers focused on, but not limited to, clostridial neurotoxins and other biotoxins mechanisms of action and how those compounds can be exploited as innovative tools to interfere with neurological processes and to treat neuropathologies are highly encouraged and appreciated.

Dr. Laura Restani
Dr. Eleonora Vannini
Dr. Cristina Spalletti
Dr. Claudia Alia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • clostridial neurotoxins
  • neuropathologies
  • synaptic activity
  • biotoxins
  • biotools

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

13 pages, 960 KiB  
Review
Some Examples of Bacterial Toxins as Tools
by Gudula Schmidt
Toxins 2024, 16(5), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16050202 - 23 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1997
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria produce diverse protein toxins to disturb the host’s defenses. This includes the opening of epithelial barriers to establish bacterial growth in deeper tissues of the host and to modulate immune cell functions. To achieve this, many toxins share the ability to [...] Read more.
Pathogenic bacteria produce diverse protein toxins to disturb the host’s defenses. This includes the opening of epithelial barriers to establish bacterial growth in deeper tissues of the host and to modulate immune cell functions. To achieve this, many toxins share the ability to enter mammalian cells, where they catalyze the modification of cellular proteins. The enzymatic activity is diverse and ranges from ribosyl- or glycosyl-transferase activity, the deamidation of proteins, and adenylate-cyclase activity to proteolytic cleavage. Protein toxins are highly active enzymes often with tight specificity for an intracellular protein or a protein family coupled with the intrinsic capability of entering mammalian cells. A broad understanding of their molecular mechanisms established bacterial toxins as powerful tools for cell biology. Both the enzymatic part and the pore-forming/protein transport capacity are currently used as tools engineered to study signaling pathways or to transport cargo like labeled compounds, nucleic acids, peptides, or proteins directly into the cytosol. Using several representative examples, this review is intended to provide a short overview of the state of the art in the use of bacterial toxins or parts thereof as tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotoxins: Innovative Research Tools to Treat Neuropathologies and Investigate Neurophysiology—In Memory of Professor Matteo Caleo)
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12 pages, 1562 KiB  
Review
Action of Botulinum Neurotoxin E Type in Experimental Epilepsies
by Flavia Antonucci and Yuri Bozzi
Toxins 2023, 15(9), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15090550 - 4 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1562
Abstract
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are zinc endopeptidases produced by the Clostridium genus of anerobic bacteria, largely known for their ability to cleave synaptic proteins, leading to neuromuscular paralysis. In the central nervous system, BoNTs are known to block the release of glutamate neurotransmitter, and [...] Read more.
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are zinc endopeptidases produced by the Clostridium genus of anerobic bacteria, largely known for their ability to cleave synaptic proteins, leading to neuromuscular paralysis. In the central nervous system, BoNTs are known to block the release of glutamate neurotransmitter, and for this reason, researchers explored the possible therapeutic action in disorders characterized by neuronal hyperactivity, such as epilepsy. Thus, using multidisciplinary approaches and models of experimental epilepsy, we investigated the pharmacological potential of BoNT/E serotype. In this review, written in memory of Prof. Matteo Caleo, a pioneer in these studies, we go back over the hypotheses and experimental approaches that led us to the conclusion that intrahippocampal administration of BoNT/E (i) displays anticonvulsant effects if prophylactically delivered in a model of acute generalized seizures; (ii) does not have any antiepileptogenic action after the induction of status epilepticus; (iii) reduces frequency of spontaneous seizures in a model of recurrent seizures if delivered during the chronic phase but in a transient manner. Indeed, the control on spontaneous seizures stops when BoNT/E effects are off (few days), thus limiting its pharmacological potential in humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotoxins: Innovative Research Tools to Treat Neuropathologies and Investigate Neurophysiology—In Memory of Professor Matteo Caleo)
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