ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2010
Bacillus anthracis produces membrane-derived vesicles containing biologically active toxins.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 217 papers.
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Who cites it
217 citing papers in PubMed.
- Choosing the Right Extracellular Vesicle: Cross-Kingdom Immunological Functions Linking Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Applications.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Advances in multivariate analysis of extracellular vesicles using visible light-based analytical methods.Nanoscale · 2026Review
- Bacterial extracellular vesicles as recyclable nutrient reservoirs.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Lactobacillus johnsonii-derived extracellular vesicles carrying GAPDH protect against ulcerative colitis through modulating macrophage polarization.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Engineered bacterial extracellular vesicles as next-generation precision postbiotics: strategies, challenges and prospects.Extracellular vesicles and circulating nucleic acids · 2026Review
- Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles in Aging: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Prospects.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Exosomes in cerebrospinal fluid as biomarkers of bacterial infections of the central nervous system: a pilot study.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Recent advances in membrane vesicles ofJournal of oral microbiology · 2026Review
- Cytoplasmic membrane vesicles fromFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Deciphering the immunomodulatory cross-talk: Bacterial extracellular vesicles in gut homeostasis.Virulence · 2025Review
- Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles: An Emerging Concern in the Field of Environmental Contamination-Characterization, Impacts, and Response Strategies.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Streptococcus pyogenes EVs induce the alternative inflammasome via caspase-4/-5 in human monocytes.EMBO reports · 2025Article
- Interplay Between Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles and Phages: Receptors, Mechanisms, and Implications.Viruses · 2025Review
- Bioengineering Outer-Membrane Vesicles for Vaccine Development: Strategies, Advances, and Perspectives.Vaccines · 2025Review
- A Paradigm Shift in SSTI Management: The Multifunctional Role of Extracellular Vesicles.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Role of Lactobacillus plantarum-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Regulating Alcohol Consumption.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Gut microbiome-derived bacterial extracellular vesicles in patients with solid tumours.Journal of advanced research · 2025Article
- Identifying plasma exosome antigens as a potential diagnostic biomarker for tuberculosis disease.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Extracellular vesicles in bone aging: therapeutic strategies and applications.Extracellular vesicles and circulating nucleic acids · 2025Review
- Recent advances in bacterial outer membrane vesicles: Effects on the immune system, mechanisms and their usage for tumor treatment.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2024Review
157 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Extracellular vesicle production is a ubiquitous process in Gram-negative bacteria, but little is known about such process in Gram-positive bacteria. We report the isolation of extracellular vesicles from the supernatants of Bacillus anthracis, a Gram-positive bacillus that is a powerful agent for biological warfare. B. anthracis vesicles formed at the outer layer of the bacterial cell had double-membrane spheres and ranged from 50 to 150 nm in diameter. Immunoelectron microscopy with mAbs to protective antigen, lethal factor, edema toxin, and anthrolysin revealed toxin components and anthrolysin in vesicles, with some vesicles containing more than one toxin component. Toxin-containing vesicles were also visualized inside B. anthracis-infected macrophages. ELISA and immunoblot analysis of vesicle preparations confirmed the presence of B. anthracis toxin components. A mAb to protective antigen protected macrophages against vesicles from an anthrolysin-deficient strain, but not against vesicles from Sterne 34F2 and Sterne δT strains, consistent with the notion that vesicles delivered both toxin and anthrolysin to host cells. Vesicles were immunogenic in BALB/c mice, which produced a robust IgM response to toxin components. Furthermore, vesicle-immunized mice lived significantly longer than controls after B. anthracis challenge. Our results indicate that toxin secretion in B. anthracis is, at least, partially vesicle-associated, thus allowing concentrated delivery of toxin components to target host cells, a mechanism that may increase toxin potency. Our observations may have important implications for the design of vaccines, for passive antibody strategies, and provide a previously unexplored system for studying secretory pathways in Gram-positive bacteria.
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