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RPRFamide
RPRFamide is a neurotoxin belonging to the conorfamide family of neuropeptides, which can be found in the venom of cone snails. Etymology and source RPRFamide is a toxin from the carnivorous marine cone snail ''Conus textile'', a predatory species that mainly lives in tropical waters. The venom of marine cone snails contains a diverse variety of toxins, which include conotoxins. RPRFamide belongs to the family of conotoxins, more specifically to the conorfamide family or RFamide family which are peptides that target neuronal ion channels in their prey. Chemistry The sequence for this toxin is identified as RPRF (R = arginine, P = proline, and F = phenylalanine). An amide group (-NH2) is located at the terminal end (C-terminus). The presence of this group is paramount for its biological activity as it enhances its interaction with ion channels. The short length, the C-terminal Arg–Phe–NH2 (RFa) motif, and the lack of cysteines clearly distinguishes these peptides from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conus Textile
''Conus textile'', the textile cone or the cloth of gold cone is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. Textile cone snails live mostly in the Indian Ocean, along the eastern coast of Africa and around Australia. Like all species within the genus ''Conus'', these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all. Based on a report in 2004, about 30 human deaths have been attributed to cone snails. List of synonyms * ''Conus (Cylinder) textile'' Linnaeus, 1758 · accepted, alternate representation * ''Conus cholmondeleyi'' Melvill, 1900 * ''Conus communis'' Swainson, 1840 * ''Cylinder concatenatus'' Kiener, 1845 * ''Conus corbula'' G. B. Sowerby II, 1858 * ''Conus dilectus'' Gould, 1850 * ''Conus euetrios'' G. B. Sowerby III, 1882 * ''Conus eumitus'' Tomlin, 1926 * ''Conus panniculus'' Lamarck, 1810 * ''Conus retea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neurotoxin
Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue.Olney 2002 The term can also be used to classify endogenous compounds, which, when abnormally contacted, can prove neurologically toxic. Though neurotoxins are often neurologically destructive, their ability to specifically target neural components is important in the study of nervous systems. Common examples of neurotoxins include lead, ethanol (drinking alcohol), glutamate,Choi 1987 nitric oxide, botulinum toxin (e.g. Botox), tetanus toxin,Simpson 1986 and tetrodotoxin. Some substances such as nitric oxide and glutamate are in fact essential for proper function of the body and only exert neurotoxic effects at excessive concentrations. Neurotoxins inhibit neuron control over ion concentrations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs, are Receptor (biochemistry), receptor polypeptides that respond to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Nicotinic receptors also respond to drugs such as the agonist nicotine. They are found in the central and peripheral nervous system, muscle, and many other tissues of many organisms. At the neuromuscular junction they are the primary receptor in muscle for motor nerve-muscle communication that controls muscle contraction. In the peripheral nervous system: (1) they transmit outgoing signals from the presynaptic to the postsynaptic cells within the Sympathetic nervous system, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, and (2) they are the receptors found on skeletal muscle that receive acetylcholine released to signal for muscular contraction. In the immune system, nAChRs regulate inflammatory processes and signal through distinct intracellular pathways. In insects, the cholinergic system is limited to the central nervous system. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snail Toxins
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called ''slugs'', and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called ''semi-slugs''. Snails have considerable human relevance, including as food items, as pests, and as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewellery. The snail has also had some cultural significance, tending to be associated with lethargy. The snail has also been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
