Tetanus and botulinum A toxins inhibit stimulated F-actin rearrangement in chromaffin cells.

Tetanus and botulinum A neurotoxins block exocytosis of noradrenaline in chromaffin cells. During exocytosis vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane. This requires an intact cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton can be displayed by rhodamine-labelled phalloidin binding to F-actin. When chromaffin cells are stimulated with carbachol, F-actin forms clusters close to the plasma membrane. On withdrawal of the secretagogue the stimulated cells revert to their original appearance. The conversions, like exocytosis, depend on the presence of Ca2+, indicating the association of exocytosis with F-actin arrangement. When exocytosis is blocked in chromaffin cells by tetanus or botulinum A neurotoxins, F-actin fails to cluster during nicotinic stimulation. Thus, the toxins act somewhere between the rise in intracellular free Ca2+ and the rearrangement of F-actin.