Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment

Sangwan, Nitika; Gangwal, Aakriti; Jain, Preksha; Langtso, Chokey; Srivastava, Shruti; Dhawan, Uma; Baweja, Renu; Singh, Yogendra

doi:10.3390/toxins17020056

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Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment

by

Nitika Sangwan

¹,

Aakriti Gangwal

²,

Preksha Jain

³,

Chokey Langtso

³,

Shruti Srivastava

³,

Uma Dhawan

^1,*

,

Renu Baweja

^4,* and

Yogendra Singh

³

¹

Department of Biomedical Science, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, University of Delhi, Delhi-110075, India

²

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine,, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

³

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India

⁴

Department of Biochemistry, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110027, India

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Toxins 2025, 17(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020056

Submission received: 30 November 2024 / Revised: 13 January 2025 / Accepted: 22 January 2025 / Published: 24 January 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthrax Toxin Chronicles: Celebrating 70 Years of Scientific Breakthroughs in Chemistry, Biology, and Toxicology)

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Abstract

Bacillus anthracis is a deadly pathogen that under unfavourable conditions forms highly resistant spores which enable them to survive for a long period of time. Spores of B. anthracis are transmitted through the contaminated soil or animal products and enter to the host through the skin, lungs or oral route and can cause cutaneous, injection, inhalation and gastrointestinal anthrax, respectively. The disease is caused by the toxin which is produced by them once they germinate within the host cell. Anthrax toxin is the major virulence factor which has the ability to kill the host cell. The role of protein kinases and phosphatases of B. anthracis in toxin production and other virulence related properties have also been reported. There are two vaccines, BioThrax and CYFENDUS^TM, which are approved by the FDA-USA to prevent anthrax disease. Recently, anthrax toxin has also been shown to be a potential candidate for cancer therapeutics. Through present review, we aim to provide insights into sporulation, transmission and pathogenesis of B. anthracis as well as the current state of its prevention, treatment, vaccines and possible therapeutic uses in cancer.

Keywords: sporulation; germination; bacterial toxin; pathogenesis; anthrax vaccine

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sangwan, N.; Gangwal, A.; Jain, P.; Langtso, C.; Srivastava, S.; Dhawan, U.; Baweja, R.; Singh, Y. Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment. Toxins 2025, 17, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020056

AMA Style

Sangwan N, Gangwal A, Jain P, Langtso C, Srivastava S, Dhawan U, Baweja R, Singh Y. Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment. Toxins. 2025; 17(2):56. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020056

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sangwan, Nitika, Aakriti Gangwal, Preksha Jain, Chokey Langtso, Shruti Srivastava, Uma Dhawan, Renu Baweja, and Yogendra Singh. 2025. "Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment" Toxins 17, no. 2: 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020056

APA Style

Sangwan, N., Gangwal, A., Jain, P., Langtso, C., Srivastava, S., Dhawan, U., Baweja, R., & Singh, Y. (2025). Anthrax: Transmission, Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment. Toxins, 17(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins17020056

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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