title: A purified Palythoa venom fraction delays sodium current inactivation in sympathetic neurons.
abstract: Palythoa caribaeorum is a zoanthid (Phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa) commonly found in shallow waters of coral reefs along the Mexican Atlantic coast. Little is known on the pharmacological and biochemical properties of the venom components of this animal group. Toxin peptides from other cnidarian venoms, like sea anemones, target sodium and potassium voltage-gated channels. In this study, we tested the activity of a low molecular weight fraction from the venom of P. caribaeorum on voltage-gated sodium channels of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons of the rat. Our results showed that this fraction delays tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive sodium channel inactivation indicated by a reversible 2-fold increase of the current at the decay. A peptide responsible for this activity was isolated and characterized. Its sequence showed that it does not resemble any previously reported toxin. Together, these results evidence the presence of neurotoxins in P. caribaeorum that act on sodium channels.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico; Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico. Electronic address: ferlaz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lazcano-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vivas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Sergio A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Román-González
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Bustamante
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Héctor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Arenas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Puig
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico. Electronic address: arrespin@unam.mx.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arreguín-Espinosa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D062556:NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D062556:NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; D009498:Neurotoxins; D015222:Sodium Channels
keywords: Cnidaria; Palythoa caribaeorum; Sodium current; Sympathetic neurons