Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) inhibit neurotransmitter release by selectively cleaving core components of the vesicular fusion machinery. The synaptic vesicle proteins Synaptotagmin-I and -II act as receptors for BoNT/B and BoNT/G. Here we show that BoNT/A also interacts with a synaptic vesicle protein, the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2C (SV2C), but not with the homologous proteins SV2A and SV2B. Binding of BoNT/A occurs at the membrane juxtaposed region preceding transmembrane domain 8. A peptide comprising the intravesicular domain between transmembrane domains 7 and 8 specifically reduces the neurotoxicity of BoNT/A at phrenic nerve preparations demonstrating the physiological relevance of this interaction.

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Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) cause muscle paralysis by selectively cleaving core components of the vesicular fusion machinery within motoneurons. Complex gangliosides initially bind into a pocket that is conserved among the seven BoNTs and tetanus neurotoxin. Productive neurotoxin uptake also requires protein receptors. The interaction site of the protein receptor within the neurotoxin is currently unknown. We report the identification and characterization of the protein receptor binding site of BoNT/B and BoNT/G. Their protein receptors, synaptotagmins I and II, bind to a pocket at the tip of their HCC (C-terminal domain of the C-terminal fragment of the heavy chain) that corresponds to the unique second carbohydrate binding site of tetanus neurotoxin, the sialic acid binding site. Substitution of amino acids in this region impaired binding to synaptotagmins and drastically decreased toxicity at mouse phrenic nerve preparations; CD-spectroscopic analyses evidenced that the secondary structure of the mutated neurotoxins was unaltered. Deactivation of the synaptotagmin binding site by single mutations led to virtually inactive BoNT/B and BoNT/G when assayed at phrenic nerve preparations of complex-ganglioside-deficient mice. Analogously, a BoNT B mutant with deactivated ganglioside and synaptotagmin binding sites lacked appreciable activity at wild-type mouse phrenic nerve preparations. Thus, these data exclude relevant contributions of any cell surface molecule other than one ganglioside and one protein receptor to the entry process of BoNTs, which substantiates the double-receptor concept. The molecular characterization of the synaptotagmin binding site provides the basis for designing a novel class of potent binding inhibitors.synaptotagmin ͉ tetanus B otulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) (serotypes A-G) are the causative agents of the disease botulism. The neurotoxins are produced as Ϸ150-kDa single-chain proteins in Clostridium botulinum and subsequently cleaved by proteases, yielding an Ϸ100-kDa heavy chain (HC) and an Ϸ50-kDa light chain (LC). These chains remain connected via a single disulfide bridge, noncovalent interactions, and a HC-derived peptide loop wrapped around the LC. The LCs act as zinc metallopeptidases, which solely hydrolyze one of three SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor) proteins: vesicle associated membrane protein/synaptobrevin, synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa, or syntaxin. Together, these substrate molecules constitute the core of the vesicular fusion machinery. Thus, cleavage of one of these proteins inhibits the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft. The HCs mediate the neurospecific binding, uptake by receptor-mediated endocytosis, and transport of the LC across the endosomal membrane into the cytosol, where the LCs encounter their substrates. The Ϸ50-kDa