Assessment of sodium channel mutations in Makah Tribal members of the U.S. Pacific Northwest as a potential mechanism of resistance to paralytic shellfish poisoning.

ABSTRACT: The Makah Tribe of Neah Bay, Washington, has historically relied on the subsistence harvest of coastal seafood, including shellfish, which remains an important cultural and ceremonial resource. Tribal legend describes visitors from other tribes that died from eating shellfish collected on Makah lands. These deaths were believed to be caused by paralytic shellfish poisoning, a human illness caused by ingestion of shellfish contaminated with saxitoxins, which are produced by toxin-producing marine dinoflagellates on which the shellfish feed. These paralytic shellfish toxins include saxitoxin, a potent Na⁺ channel antagonist that binds to the pore region of voltage gated Na⁺ channels. Amino acid mutations in the Na⁺ channel pore have been demonstrated to confe

SUBMITTER: Adams NG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5015773 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature