title: Unique interactions between scorpion toxins and small conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels.
abstract: Small conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels (SK channels) distributing in the nervous system play an important role in learning, memory and synaptic plasticity. Most pharmacological properties of them are determined by short-chain scorpion toxins. Different from most voltage-gated potassium channels and large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels, SK channels are only inhibited by a small quantity of scorpion toxins. Recently, a novel peptide screener in the extracellular pore entryway of SK channels was considered as the structural basis of toxin selective recognition. In this review, we summarized the unique interactions between scorpion toxins and SK channels, which is crucial not only in deep-researching for physiological function of SK channels, but also in developing drugs for SK channel-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medicinal Macromolecular Laboratory, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan 442000, China. chenzy2005@126.com.
authors.forename: Zong-Yun
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China. ylwu@whu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ying-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008568:Memory; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*; D012605:Scorpions; D051640:Small-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D012604:Scorpion Venoms; D051640:Small-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels