Tetanus Antibodies, Proteins & ELISA Kits

Tetanus is a disease caused by the gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming rod shaped bacteria called Clostridium tetani (C. tetani). Tetanus is associated with severe rigidity, muscle spasms, lockjaw and mortality in extreme cases. Tetanus can be spread when C.tetani spores are exposed to wounds in the skin often caused by wood or metal splinters.

There are four types of tetanus. Generalized tetanus is the most common form and it accounts for 80% of cases. Neonatal tetanus occurs in newborns of unimmunized mothers, localized tetanus is when there is persistent contraction of muscles at the injury site and cephalic tetanus is when tetanus is limited to nerves and muscles in the head region.

There are five different types of vaccines which protect against tetanus and other diseases. One example is the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. However, while extensive tetanus vaccination programs have been a success, there is still the need for further tetanus research for vaccine development.

After germination, C. tetani secretes two toxins which are tetanolysin and tetanospasmin (TeNT). Tetanolysin is responsible for damaging tissues whereby it decreases tissue oxygenation and it aids in bacteria proliferation. TeNT can enter presynaptic terminals located at the neuromuscular endplate of motor neurons and it inhibits the release of glycine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which are inhibitory neurotransmitters. TeNt also cleaves pre-synaptic SNARE protein VAMP2 (vesicle-associated membrane protein-2) which inhibits neurotransmission. Therefore, TeNT is responsible for a hyperactivity effect, leading to involuntary contraction of skeletal muscles and tetanic spasms.

The aforementioned effects which tetanus has on the body through tissue damage and involuntary contraction of muscles highlights a need to generate and enhance vaccines. Assay Genie provides a tetanus monoclonal antibody for vaccine research and development studies.

TeNT binding to neurons during tetanus is said to be mediated by gangliosides which are anchored to the cell membrane. In particular, GM1 and GD3 gangliosides were shown to be needed for TeNT binding to neurons and non-neuronal cells. As well as this, synaptic vesicle binding proteins for TeNT are SV2A and SV2B and they mediate both binding and entry of TeNT into central neurons.

A key area of research is the immune response against C. tetani. Flagellin of C. tetani  is recognized by toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) and a signaling cascade is activated in the body in order to eradicate the invading pathogen.

In particular, there have been numerous studies which have examined the cellular response against C. tetani in individuals who have received their tetanus vaccination with tetanus toxoid (TT). In these studies there were a number of cytokines produced after TT administration such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-1beta, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-beta), TNF-alpha and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma).

Immunometabolism is an important area of science which encompasses regions of metabolism and immunology. Many of the functional capacities of immune cells are dependent on the metabolic state of the cell and its capability to mount an immune response.

At present there is very little research covering how immune cell metabolism is affected by tetanus infections, meaning it represents a potential research area for future investigations. Assay Genie provides a wide range of immunometabolism assays such as glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, the citric acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) assays kits.

Animal models are useful research tools which are often used in early stages of therapeutic product development and pathogenesis studies. Tetanus affects a wide range of animals whereby horses, guinea pigs, sheep, mice, goats and monkeys are the most susceptible species. Dogs and cats are relatively resistant to TeNT and localized tetanus is primarily observed with symptoms which are relatively mild. Mouse animal models are the most commonly used animal models for tetanus vaccine research whereby they have been used to assess the immunogenicity of controlled release vaccines.