Agitoxin

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Agitoxin is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

Related Sponsors

BM Pharmacy Generic pharmaceuticals at unbeatable prices. Insomnia, men's health, hair health, pain control. bmpharmacy.com
Online Pharmacy Carisoprodol, tadalafil, sildenafil, vardenafil and more... xlpharmacy.com
MedBasket.com Discreet. Inexpensive. Fast shipping. Great selection. What more can we say? medbasket.com
Frugalmed 2000 reasons to shop with us first. frugalmed.com
Ads by Tiva

 This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (November 2006)

Agitoxin is a toxin found in the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus herbraeus (yellow scorpion).

Agitoxin binds to the Shaker K+ channel in Drosophila as well as to its mammalian homologue. It blocks this channel by binding with high affinity (Kd < 1 nmol/L) to its external vestibule.

Agitoxin can be purified using HPLC techniques. Its structure consists of a triple-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet and a single helix covering one face of the beta-sheet. The cysteine side chains connect the beta-sheet and the helix form to the core of the molecule. The fold of agitoxin is homologous to the previously determined folds of scorpion venom toxins.

Three types of agitoxin can be distinguished; all 3 agitoxins have been identified as 38 amino acid toxins (cystine bonds not shown):

  • Agitoxin-1 Gly-Val-Pro-Ile-Asn-Val-Lys-Cys-Thr-Gly-Ser-Pro-Gln-Cys-Leu-Lys-Pro-Cys-Lys-Asp-Ala-Gly-Met-Arg-Phe-Gly-Lys-Cys-Ile-Asn-Gly-Lys-Cys-His-Cys-Thr-Pro-Lys (molecular weight = 4014.87 Da, molecular formula = C169H278N52O47S7)
  • Agitoxin-2 Gly-Val-Pro-Ile-Asn-Val-Ser-Cys-Thr-Gly-Ser-Pro-Gln-Cys-Ile-Lys-Pro-Cys-Lys-Asp-Ala-Gly-Met-Arg-Phe-Gly-Lys-Cys-Met-Asn-Arg-Lys-Cys-His-Cys-Thr-Pro-Lys (molecular weight = 4090.95 Da, molecular formula = C169H278N54O48S8)
  • Agitoxin-3 Gly-Val-Pro-Ile-Asn-Val-Pro-Cys-Thr-Gly-Ser-Pro-Gln-Cys-Ile-Lys-Pro-Cys-Lys-Asp-Ala-Gly-Met-Arg-Phe-Gly-Lys-Cys-Met-Asn-Arg-Lys-Cys-His-Cys-Thr-Pro-Lys (molecular weight = 4100.98 Da, molecular formula = C171H280N54O47S8, CAS Number 155646-23-4)

References:

  • Garcia ML et al. (1994). "Purification and characterization of three inhibitors of voltage-dependent K+ channels from Leiurus quinquestriatus var. hebraeus venom". Biochemistry 33 (22): 6834–6839. doi:10.1021/bi00188a012.  doi: 10.1021/bi00188a012
  • Gao YD et al. (2003). "Interaction of agitoxin2, charybdotoxin, and iberiotoxin with potassium channels: selectivity between voltage-gated and Maxi-K channels". Proteins 52 (2): 146–154. doi:10.1002/prot.10341.  doi: 10.1002/prot.10341
This medical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
v • d • e
Toxins (endotoxin/exotoxin, enterotoxin/neurotoxin/hemotoxin/cardiotoxin)
Bacterial toxins
Mycotoxins
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
note: some toxins are produced by lower species and pass through intermediate species

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 22 August 2008, at 17:34.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Agitoxin".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.