Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a disease caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani which enters the body through open wounds and releases a poison called tetanospasmin. This is a potentially deadly disease because the poison attacks the nervous system blocking nerve signals from the spinal cord to and from the muscles. However this disease is preventable through injecting multiples doses of vaccines and administering the recommended booster shot every ten years. Tetanus vaccine is a vaccine composed of inactivated tetanus toxin. This vaccine is imumunogenic not pathogenic and is used to prevent an individual from contracting tetanus
Tetanus toxin is an extremely potent neurotoxin produced by the vegetative cell of Clostridium tetani inanaerobic conditions, causing tetanus. It has no known function for clostridia in the soil environment where they are normally encountered. It is also called spasmogenic toxin, tetanospasmin or abbreviated to TeTx or TeNT. The tetanus toxin protein has a molecular weight of 150kD. It is translated from the TetX gene as one protein which is subsequently cleaved into two parts: a 100kD H-chain or heavy chain or B-chain and a 50kD amino terminal light or A-chain (C-fragment). The light chain contains the enzymatic portion of the toxin and is responsible for its toxic effects. The light chain activity is abolished by a mutation at His233 to either Cys or Val or Glu234 to Gln. H-chain further cleavage into Hn (amino terminal) and Hc (carboxy terminal) fragments. The chains are connected by a disulfide bond. The B-chain binds to dissialogangliosides (GD2 and GD1b) on the neuronal membrane and contains a translocation domain which aids the movement of the protein across that membrane and into the neuron. The A-chain, a zinc endopeptidase, attacks the vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP).
Tetanus toxin Hc-fragment has been tested as a subunit vaccine candidate and shown to elicit protective immunity. Similarly, Tetanus light chain fragments have been shown to elicit protective immunity and the individuals vaccinated with the whole toxoid contain light chain antibodies. Toxoid refers to the inactivated version of the active toxin. It is typically produced by formaldehyde inactivation of the active protein.
Source:Recombinant protein corresponding to C. tetani light chain fragment, aa2-438, fused to His-tag expressed in E. coli.
Molecular Weight:~50-52kD under reducing conditions
Applications:Suitable for use in ELISA and Western Blot. Other applications not tested.
Recommended Dilution:ELISA: coat at 1-10ug/ml Western Blot: load 100-200ng protein/wellOptimal dilutions to be determined by the researcher.
Storage and Stability:May be stored at 4°C for short-term only. Aliquot to avoid repeated freezing and thawing. Store at -20°C. Aliquots are stable for 12 months. For maximum recovery of product, centrifuge the original vial after thawing and prior to removing the cap.
