Harnessing bacterial toxins to treat pain

Yang et al. demonstrate that sensory neurons are enriched for the anthrax toxin receptor-2. Edema toxin, which acts via this receptor, induces analgesia in mice and can also be engineered to deliver large cargoes such as botulinum toxin in order to selectively silence sensory neurons.

Automated summary

The study showed that sensory neurons are enriched for anthrax toxin receptor-2. Edema toxin acts through this receptor to induce analgesia in mice, and can also be modified to deliver large cargoes like botulinum toxin to selectively silence sensory neurons.