Phyla- and Subtype-Selectivity of CgNa, a Na Channel Toxin from the Venom of the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone Condylactis Gigantea.

ABSTRACT: Because of their prominent role in electro-excitability, voltage-gated sodium (Na(V)) channels have become the foremost important target of animal toxins. These toxins have developed the ability to discriminate between closely related Na(V) subtypes, making them powerful tools to study Na(V) channel function and structure. CgNa is a 47-amino acid residue type I toxin isolated from the venom of the Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone Condylactis gigantea. Previous studies showed that this toxin slows the fast inactivation of tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na(V) currents in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. To illuminate the underlying Na(V) subtype-selectivity pattern, we have assayed the effects of CgNa on a broad range of mammalian isoforms (Na(V)1.2-Na(V)1.8) expressed in Xenopus oocytes. This study dem

SUBMITTER: Billen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3153007 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature