Tetanus toxin (TeNT) (TeNT)

Tetanus toxin, also known as tetanospasmin, is an extremely potent neurotoxin produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani (StatPearls, 2023). It is the primary causative agent of tetanus, a disease characterized by severe muscle spasms and autonomic dysfunction (CDC, 2024). The toxin is a 150 kDa protein consisting of a heavy chain and a light chain linked by a disulfide bond (UniProt, 2024). The heavy chain mediates binding to polysialogangliosides on nerve terminals and facilitates retrograde axonal transport to the central nervous system (PubMed, 2021). The light chain functions as a zinc-dependent metalloprotease that cleaves synaptobrevin (VAMP), a protein essential for the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters like GABA and glycine (UniProt, 2024). This cleavage prevents the inhibition of motor neurons, leading to the characteristic spastic paralysis (StatPearls, 2023). Therapeutic strategies focus on neutralizing the toxin using antibodies induced by the tetanus toxoid vaccine or through the administration of tetanus immune globulin for passive protection (CDC, 2024).

Other names

TetanospasminTeLClostridium tetani neurotoxinTetanus neurotoxin

Neutralizing antibodies bind to specific epitopes on the tetanus toxin, particularly the C-fragment of the heavy chain, thereby preventing the toxin from binding to neuronal receptors and inhibiting its internalization and retrograde transport to the central nervous system (PubMed, 2021; CDC, 2024).