title: Snake postsynaptic neurotoxins: gene structure, phylogeny and applications in research and therapy.
abstract: Snake venoms are complex mixtures of biologically active polypeptides that target a variety of vital physiological functions in mammals. alpha-Neurotoxins, toxins that cause paralysis by binding to the nicotinic receptors at the postsynaptic region of the neuromuscular junction have been widely studied in terms of their structure-function relationships as well as gene structure, organization and expression. In this review, we describe the structure of alpha-neurotoxin genes and discuss their evolutionary relationships. Almost all members of neurotoxins have been found to exhibit a common evolutionary origin. The importance of alpha-neurotoxins in therapy and research has also been discussed to highlight their potential applications especially in the area of drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joyce Siew
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Phui Yee
authors.forename: Gong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nanling
authors.forename: Fatemah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Afifiyan
authors.forename: Ma
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donghui
authors.forename: Poh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siew Lay
authors.forename: Arunmozhiarasi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Armugam
authors.forename: Kandiah
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeyaseelan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D009498:Neurotoxins; D012910:Snake Venoms