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Cardiotoxin III
Cardiotoxin III (CTX III, also known as cytotoxin 3) is a sixty amino-acid polypeptide toxin from the Taiwan Cobra Naja atra. It is an example of a group of snake cardio/cytotoxins (), which are made up of shorter snake venom three-finger toxins. Recent evidence has shown that CTX III may induce apoptosis in K562 cells via the release of cytochrome c The cytochrome complex, or cyt ''c'', is a small hemeprotein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. It belongs to the cytochrome c family of proteins and plays a major role in cell apoptosis. Cytochrome c is hig .... References Vertebrate toxins Peripheral membrane proteins {{membrane-protein-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardiotoxin III
Cardiotoxin III (CTX III, also known as cytotoxin 3) is a sixty amino-acid polypeptide toxin from the Taiwan Cobra Naja atra. It is an example of a group of snake cardio/cytotoxins (), which are made up of shorter snake venom three-finger toxins. Recent evidence has shown that CTX III may induce apoptosis in K562 cells via the release of cytochrome c The cytochrome complex, or cyt ''c'', is a small hemeprotein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. It belongs to the cytochrome c family of proteins and plays a major role in cell apoptosis. Cytochrome c is hig .... References Vertebrate toxins Peripheral membrane proteins {{membrane-protein-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polypeptide
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Hence, peptides fall under the broad chemical classes of biological polymers and oligomers, alongside nucleic acids, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and others. A polypeptide that contains more than approximately 50 amino acids is known as a protein. Proteins consist of one or more polypeptides arranged in a biologically functional way, often bound to ligands such as coenzymes and cofactors, or to another protein or other macromolecule such as DNA or RNA, or to complex macromolecular assemblies. Amino acids that have been incorporated into peptides are termed residues. A water molecule is released during formation of each amide bond.. All peptides except cyclic peptides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxin
A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919) and is derived from the word toxic. Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their toxicity, ranging from usually minor (such as a bee sting) to potentially fatal even at extremely low doses (such as botulinum toxin). Toxins are largely secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds that are not directly involved in an organism's growth, development, or reproduction, instead often aiding it in matters of defense. Terminology Toxins are often distinguished from other chemical agents strictly based on their biological origin. Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naja Atra
The Chinese cobra (''Naja atra''), also called the Taiwan cobra, is a species of cobra in the family Elapidae, found mostly in southern China and a couple of neighboring nations and islands. It is one of the most prevalent venomous snakes in China and Taiwan, which has caused many snakebite incidents to humans. Etymology and names ''Naja atra'' was first described by Danes, Danish physician, zoologist, and botanist Theodore Edward Cantor in 1842. The genus, generic name ''naja'' is a Latinisation of the Sanskrit word () meaning "cobra". The species, specific epithet ''atra'' comes from the Latin term ''ater'', which means "dark", "black", or "gloomy". In Mandarin Chinese, the snake is known as ''Zhōnghuá yǎnjìngshé'' (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified: 中华眼镜蛇, Traditional Chinese characters, traditional: 中華眼鏡蛇, lit. "Chinese spectacled snake", i.e. Chinese cobra), ''Zhōushān yǎnjìngshé'' (舟山眼鏡蛇, lit. "Zhoushan spectacled snake" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardiotoxicity
Cardiotoxicity is the occurrence of heart dysfunction as electric or muscle damage, resulting in heart toxicity. The heart becomes weaker and is not as efficient in pumping blood. Cardiotoxicity may be caused by chemotherapy (a usual example is the class of anthracyclines) treatment and/or radiotherapy; complications from anorexia nervosa; adverse effects of heavy metals intake; the long-term abuse of or ingestion at high doses of certain strong stimulants such as cocaine; or an incorrectly administered drug such as bupivacaine. One of the ways to detect cardiotoxicity at early stages when there is a subclinical dysfunction is by measuring changes in regional function of the heart using strains. See also * Cardiotoxin III * Batrachotoxin * Heart failure * Drug interaction Drug interactions occur when a drug's mechanism of action is disturbed by the concomitant administration of substances such as foods, beverages, or other drugs. The cause is often the inhibition of the sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytotoxicity
Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells with the cytotoxic compound can result in a variety of cell fates. The cells may undergo necrosis, in which they lose membrane integrity and die rapidly as a result of cell lysis. The cells can stop actively growing and dividing (a decrease in cell viability), or the cells can activate a genetic program of controlled cell death (apoptosis). Cells undergoing necrosis typically exhibit rapid swelling, lose membrane integrity, shut down metabolism, and release their contents into the environment. Cells that undergo rapid necrosis in vitro do not have sufficient time or energy to activate apoptotic machinery and will not express apoptotic markers. Apoptosis is characterized by well defined cytological and molecular events including a change i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snake Venom
Snake venom is a highly toxic saliva containing zootoxins that facilitates in the immobilization and digestion of prey. This also provides defense against threats. Snake venom is injected by unique fangs during a bite, whereas some species are also able to spit venom. The glands that secrete zootoxins are a modification of the parotid salivary glands found in other vertebrates and are usually located on each side of the head, below and behind the eye, and enclosed in a muscular sheath. The venom is stored in large glands called alveoli in which it's stored before being conveyed by a duct to the base of channeled or tubular fangs through which it's ejected. Venom contains more than 20 different compounds, which are mostly proteins and polypeptides. The complex mixture of proteins, enzymes, and various other substances has toxic and lethal properties. Venom serves to immobilize prey. Enzymes in venom play an important role in the digestion of prey, and various other substances ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-finger Toxin
Three-finger toxins (abbreviated 3FTx) are a protein superfamily of small toxin proteins found in the venom of snakes. Three-finger toxins are in turn members of a larger superfamily of three-finger protein domains which includes non-toxic proteins that share a similar protein fold. The group is named for its common structure consisting of three beta strand loops connected to a central core containing four conserved disulfide bonds. The 3FP protein domain has no enzymatic activity and is typically between 60-74 amino acid residues long. Despite their conserved structure, three-finger toxin proteins have a wide range of pharmacological effects. Most members of the family are neurotoxins that act on cholinergic intercellular signaling; the alpha-neurotoxin family interacts with muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), the kappa-bungarotoxin family with neuronal nAChRs, and muscarinic toxins with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs). Structure The three-finger t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apoptosis
Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and mRNA decay. The average adult human loses between 50 and 70 billion cells each day due to apoptosis. For an average human child between eight and fourteen years old, approximately twenty to thirty billion cells die per day. In contrast to necrosis, which is a form of traumatic cell death that results from acute cellular injury, apoptosis is a highly regulated and controlled process that confers advantages during an organism's life cycle. For example, the separation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the digits undergo apoptosis. Unlike necrosis, apoptosis produces cell fragments called apoptotic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
K562 Cell
K562 cells were the first human immortalised myelogenous leukemia cell line to be established. K562 cells are of the erythroleukemia type, and the cell line is derived from a 53-year-old female chronic myelogenous leukemia patient in blast crisis. The cells are non-adherent and rounded, are positive for the bcr:abl fusion gene, and bear some proteomic resemblance to both undifferentiated granulocytes and erythrocytes. In culture they exhibit much less clumping than many other suspension lines, presumably due to the downregulation of surface adhesion molecules by bcr:abl. However, another study suggests that bcr:abl over-expression may actually increase cell adherence to cell culture plastic. K562 cells can spontaneously develop characteristics similar to early-stage erythrocytes, granulocytes and monocytes and are easily killed by natural killer cells as they lack the MHC complex required to inhibit NK activity. They also lack any trace of Epstein-Barr virus and other h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytochrome C
The cytochrome complex, or cyt ''c'', is a small hemeprotein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. It belongs to the cytochrome c family of proteins and plays a major role in cell apoptosis. Cytochrome c is highly water-soluble, unlike other cytochromes, and is an essential component of the respiratory electron transport chain, where it carries one electron. It is capable of undergoing oxidation and reduction as its iron atom converts between the ferrous and ferric forms, but does not bind oxygen. It transfers electrons between Complexes III (Coenzyme Q – Cyt c reductase) and IV (Cyt c oxidase). In humans, cytochrome c is encoded by the ''CYCS'' gene. Species distribution Cytochrome c is a highly conserved protein across the spectrum of eukaryotic species, found in plants, animals, fungi, and many unicellular organisms. This, along with its small size (molecular weight about 12,000 daltons), makes it useful in studies of cladistics. Cyt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebrate Toxins
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described. Vertebrates comprise such groups as the following: * jawless fish, which include hagfish and lampreys * jawed vertebrates, which include: ** cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and ratfish) ** bony vertebrates, which include: *** ray-fins (the majority of living bony fish) *** lobe-fins, which include: **** coelacanths and lungfish **** tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species ''Paedophryne amauensis'', at as little as , to the blue whale, at up to . Vertebrates make up less than five percent of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do not have pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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