title: Shellfish toxins targeting voltage-gated sodium channels.
abstract: Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) play a central role in the generation and propagation of action potentials in excitable neurons and other cells and are targeted by commonly used local anesthetics, antiarrhythmics, and anticonvulsants. They are also common targets of neurotoxins including shellfish toxins. Shellfish toxins are a variety of toxic secondary metabolites produced by prokaryotic cyanobacteria and eukaryotic dinoflagellates in both marine and fresh water systems, which can accumulate in marine animals via the food chain. Consumption of shellfish toxin-contaminated seafood may result in potentially fatal human shellfish poisoning. This article provides an overview of the structure, bioactivity, and pharmacology of shellfish toxins that act on VGSCs, along with a brief discussion on their pharmaceutical potential for pain management.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Innovation Center of Engineering and New Products for Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China. liuzh@hunnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xunxun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003445:Crustacea / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels