Structural highlights
Function[TOT2A_HADVE] Potent inhibitor of insect (bee brain), but not mammalian (rat trigeminal neurons), voltage-gated calcium channels (Cav). As for omega-AcTx-Hv1a, the phenotypic effect of injection of this toxin into lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) is curling of all eight legs into closed loops, followed by death.[1] Publication Abstract from PubMedWe have isolated a novel family of insect-selective neurotoxins that appear to be the most potent blockers of insect voltage-gated calcium channels reported to date. These toxins display exceptional phylogenetic specificity, with at least a 10,000-fold preference for insect versus vertebrate calcium channels. The structure of one of the toxins reveals a highly structured, disulfide-rich core and a structurally disordered C-terminal extension that is essential for channel blocking activity. Weak structural/functional homology with omega-agatoxin-IVA/B, the prototypic inhibitor of vertebrate P-type calcium channels, suggests that these two toxin families might share a similar mechanism of action despite their vastly different phylogenetic specificities. Discovery and structure of a potent and highly specific blocker of insect calcium channels.,Wang XH, Connor M, Wilson D, Wilson HI, Nicholson GM, Smith R, Shaw D, Mackay JP, Alewood PF, Christie MJ, King GF J Biol Chem. 2001 Oct 26;276(43):40306-12. Epub 2001 Aug 24. PMID:11522785[2] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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