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Effect of Apamin and Melittin on Ion Channels and Intracellular Calcium of Heart Cells

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Abstract

Several toxins have been reported to be highly specific blockers of a single type of ionic channel. A good example of this is tetrodotoxin (TTX), a highly specific fast Na+− channel blocker1. Like TTX, scorpion toxins have become important tools for the study of Na+ channels2. However, different scorpion venoms have different types of action on this channel2–4. Saxotoxin (STX) was also reported to be a specific fast Na+ channel blocker1,5,6. Some natural toxins do not inhibit the fast Na+ channel but rather activate or open this type of channel. These include gonioporatoxin (GPT)7, batrachotoxin (BXT)8 and grayanotoxin (GTX)9. Several other types of toxins were found to be specific for different types of K+ channels. Examples are charybdotoxin (ChTX), apamin, dendrotoxin, noxiustoxin and gaboon viper venom10,11. Our laboratory, as well as others, reported that some toxins may specifically affect the L-type Ca2+ channels12 as well as the early embryonic fast transient (ft) slow Na+ channels13–15 in heart muscle. Another toxin, ω-conotoxin (ω-CgTx), was reported to block the L-type and N-type Ca2+ channels but with only transient inhibitory effects on T-type Ca2+ channels in neurons and not in heart muscle16. Maitotoxin (MTX) was found to activate a new class of voltage-independent Ca2+ channel or an entirely modified form of voltage-gated Ca2+ channel in heart cells17.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRCC Group in immuno-cardiovascular interactions Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1H 5N4, Canada

    G. Bkaily, M. Simaan, D. Jaalouk & P. Pothier

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  1. G. Bkaily
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  2. M. Simaan
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  3. D. Jaalouk
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  4. P. Pothier
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Israeli College of Complementary Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Avshalom Mizrahi

  2. Triwaks Bee Research Center, The Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel

    Yaacov Lensky

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Bkaily, G., Simaan, M., Jaalouk, D., Pothier, P. (1997). Effect of Apamin and Melittin on Ion Channels and Intracellular Calcium of Heart Cells. In: Mizrahi, A., Lensky, Y. (eds) Bee Products. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9371-0_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9371-0_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9373-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9371-0

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