Anthrax Research Papers

Anthrax

Pathogen Info:
• Rod-shaped, spore-forming bacteria with square ends
• Spores are inactive until they enter a live host; can survive for decades prior to infection.
• Pathogenicity:
• Forms a protective protein capsule to avoid phagocytosis
• Anthrax toxin (all from RCSB source, Anthrax toxin., other journals that are bookmarked)
• Three parts (EF and LF attack signaling parts of cell)
• Edema factor (EF) is an adenyl cyclase enzyme. It attacks ATP, turns it into cyclic AMP, and creates an endless signaling loop that disrupts cell function
• Protective antigen (PA) binds to cell membranes, carries EF and LF, and allows them to enter the cell.
• Lethal factor (LF) disables mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases, disrupting the
90% of all infected individuals effected via inhalation will die. Hospitalization and medication are required.
(Vyas 2015)
History of Bioterrorism
• Anthrax is easily weaponizable due to the extreme lethality of the inhalational infection and the ability of the bacteria to be aerosolized.
• First recorded weaponized use of Anthrax was by the British during WWII when they dropped a bomb filled with liquid suspended Anthrax that contaminated the uninhabited Gruinard Island (Riedel 2005).
• Only major recorded human epidemic during the 20th century was in 1979. In the city of Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union, now known as Ekaterinburg, Russia, a Soviet military facility accidentally released a cloud of airborne Anthrax. This cloud infected and killed dozens of citizens (Riedel 2005).
• In 2001, there were several letters that were mailed in the U.S. that were laced with Anthrax. 22 people were infected, with five dying from inhalational infections (Johnston 2005). The strain used in the attacks was identified through various DNA tests including a complete sequencing of the genome of Bacillus anthracis. It was then even more specifically identified through a morphological study of the strain. This attack led to a large increase in research of potential bioterrorism agents, including over $60 billion spent on building new labs (Shachtman
• Comprised of thermal cycling, including cycles of heating and cooling to melt the DNA with enzymatic replication of DNA.
• Chemical
• PA is a multifunctional protein that binds to anthrax toxin receptors and plays a key role in the internalization and delivery of the LF and EF complexes to the endosome.
• Various methods have been developed to detect LF and EF based on their specific enzymatic functions.
• Anti-body
• The spore surface protein BclA was first identified as a potential biomarker for anthrax.
• Multiple copies of the O-linked tetrasaccharide are known to attach to several sites on BclA.
• This modification has been used as a target to produce polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies that detect B. anthracis spores.
• Phage peptide
• In the case of B. anthracis, phage-Wβ and γ-phage have been reported to specifically interact to induce bacteriolysis.
• These bacteriophages can be used as an alternative bioprobe for diagnostic systems.
• The phage and sample are mixed to analyze bioluminescence.
• A bioluminescent signal was evident after 16 minutes in cells, and full detection was estimated in 60