title: Do snake venom cytotoxins exhibit amphiphilicity?
abstract: It is suggested, on the basis of the structural information available from the literature, that the molecules of cobramine B and homologous cytotoxins, in contrast to snake venom neurotoxins, are amphiphilic in the sense that they are composed of a predominantly hydrophobic multi-stranded beta-sheet and other regions sharply hydrophilic. It is possible that the direct lytic activity of snake venom cytotoxins is due, at least in part, to their amphiphathy.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasília, DF.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ventura
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000032:analysis; D004870:Erabutoxins / Q000032:analysis; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D003603:Cytotoxins; D004546:Elapid Venoms; D012910:Snake Venoms; D004870:Erabutoxins