These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Antigenic polymorphism of the "short" scorpion toxins able to block K+ channels.
    Author: Vacher H, Martin-Eauclaire MF.
    Journal: Toxicon; 2004 Mar 15; 43(4):447-53. PubMed ID: 15051409.
    Abstract:
    BmTX3 is a toxin recently characterised from the venom of the Chinese scorpion Buthus martensi Karch, which specifically blocks a transient A-type K+ current in striatum neurons in culture and binds to rat brain synaptosomes with high affinity. With Aa1 and AmmTX3, it belongs to the new alpha-KTx15 subfamily from "short-chain" scorpion toxins, which specifically block different types of K+ channels. Here, a highly specific polyclonal antiserum was raised in rabbit against a C-terminal deleted BmTX3 analogue (BmTX-del YP). Using liquid-phase radioimmunoassay, we have studied its selectivity for the toxins from the alpha-KTx15 subfamily. We have also demonstrated that no/or poor cross-reactivity was observed with a panel of "short-chain" scorpion toxins representative of other structurally different subfamilies. These results suggest that a wide antigenic polymorphism, similar to that previously observed for "long-chain" scorpion toxins acting as modulators of voltage-activated Na+ channels, is also the rule for the "short-chain" scorpion toxins able to block K+ channels.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]