Spider venom of Araneus opens and desensitizes glutamate channels in chick spinal cord neurones.
Whole cell currents induced by the excretions of venom glands from the spider Araneus diadematus (ASV) were tested in neurones from the embryonic spinal cord of the chick in culture by the patch clamp technique. ASV in a dose of one bite in 1 ml induced a large membrane current of the same polarity as the excitatory amino acids, which decreased during long-lasting application. The effects were, to a large extent, rapidly reversible. It is suggested that ASV activates and desensitizes the receptor channels for excitatory amino acids.
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001180:Arthropod Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002645:Chickens; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005971:Glutamates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013111:Spider Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects*
D000596:Amino Acids; D001180:Arthropod Venoms; D005971:Glutamates; D007473:Ion Channels; D013111:Spider Venoms; D018698:Glutamic Acid