Methods for the delivery of toxins or enzymatically active portions thereof
AssigneeTrustees of Tufts College
InventorsGeorge A. Oyler, Charles B. Shoemaker, Chuehling Kuo
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Abstract
The present invention relates to methods, systems, and kits for intoxicating cells, neuronal and non-neuronal cells, with a toxin or fragment thereof. This is done by subjecting toxin substrate and a lipid or polymeric carrier (e.g., DNA uptake facilitating agent) to one or more cells for use in cell based assays. In an aspect, the methods of the present invention allow for high throughput assays and, as such, for the evaluation of drug candidates.
Claims13
A method of assessing in vitro an effect of a molecule or compound on a cell intoxicated with a toxin or an enzymatically active fragment thereof;
- the method comprises:
- a. contacting a botulinum neurotoxin or an enzymatically active fragment of the botulinum neurotoxin with a lipid or polymeric carrier to thereby obtain a mixture;
- b. exposing cells to the mixture in an amount to allow the botulinum neurotoxin or enzymatically active fragment thereof to enter the cell, to thereby obtain intoxicated cells;
- c. subjecting the intoxicated cells to the molecule or compound to be assessed;
- and
- d. assessing the effect of said molecule or compound on the intoxicated cell by assessing the percent cleavage of SNAP25, a level of one or more SNARE proteins, or a combination thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.