A new diagnostic method to detect ultralow concentrations of active anthrax proteins in an infected blood sample has been described by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Cancer Institute:
Current detection methods rely on injecting live animals or cell cultures with samples for analysis and require up to several days before results are available. Described in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the new method produces unambiguous results in about an hour. The researchers hope the system will ultimately be useful in developing fast, reliable ways to diagnose anthrax infections or to quickly screen large numbers of drugs as possible therapies for blocking the bacteria’s toxic effects.
The method works by detecting changes in current flow when anthrax proteins are present in a solution. An anthrax protein ironically called “protective antigen” spontaneously forms nanometer-scale pores that penetrate the surface of an organic membrane. When a voltage is applied across the membrane, positively and negatively charged ions flow freely in both directions through the pore. When additional anthrax proteins called lethal factor (LF) or edema factor (EF) are present, however, the proteins bind to the outside of the pore and shut down the flow of ions in one direction. This change in current flow depends on the concentration of the proteins in the solution and can detect amounts as low as 10 picomolar (trillionths of a mole).
“We hope this system will lead to a method for rapidly screening agents that inhibit the binding of LF or EF to these pores,” says NIST’s lead investigator John Kasianowicz.
The press release…