Screening inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor.

The disease anthrax is caused by lethal factor, an enzyme component of the toxin produced by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Here we describe substrate molecules for this factor that offer a means for high-throughput screening of potential inhibitors for use in anthrax treatment. Our assay should help to answer the urgent call for new and specific therapies to combat this pathogen after its recent emergence as a terrorist bioweapon.