Animal Toxins: Facts and Protocols

ISBN-13: 9783764360207 / Angielski / Miękka / 2000 / 365 str.

H. Rochat; H. M. F. Martin-Eauclaire

Opis

It is now something of a truism to say that natural toxins form a major compo nent of the molecular tools used increasingly frequently by the ever growing number of laboratories of various kinds. Evidence for this is provided not only by the increasing number of firms including such toxins in their catalogues but also by the large number of demands received by those who discover new tox ins. This book is designed to facilitate the work of scientists interested in explor ing a new domain of toxicology or in using toxins as tools for research. The length of this book has been kept reasonable by concentrating on animal tox ins, most of which are polypeptides. The venom of each animal contains a large number of toxins, which may be similar in terms of their physical and chemical properties and are therefore difficult to purify. However, their pharmacological activities may be very differ ent. These toxins are extremely active, and it is therefore necessary to demon strate conclusively that the activity observed really does correspond to the newly characterized molecule."

Spis treści

1. Assays for Dinoflagellate Toxins, Specifically Brevetoxin, Ciguatoxin, and Saxitoxin.- 2. Maitotoxin, Okadaic Acid and Microcystins: Toxins That Disturb Signal Transduction and Phosphorylations.- 3. Sea Anemone Toxins Acting on Na+ Channels and K+ Channels: Isolation and Characterization.- 4. Nemertine Toxins.- 5. Conus Peptides and their Iodinated Derivatives as Probes for Ion Channels and Receptors.- 6. Ant Polypeptide Toxins.- 7. Wasp Kinins and Kinin Analogues.- 8. Mastoparan as a G Protein Activator.- 9. Pharmacologically Active Peptides and Proteins from Bee Venom.- 10. Purification and Characterization of Scorpion Toxins Acting on Voltage-Sensitive Na+ Channels.- 11. Immunological Properties of Scorpion Toxins.- 12. Scorpion Toxins and Potassium Channels.- 13. Chemical Synthesis and Characterization of Small Proteins: Example of Scorpion Toxins.- 14. Characterization of Animal Toxins Binding to Ionic Channels from Electrophysiological Recordings.- 15. “Three-Fingered” Toxins from Hydrophid and Elapid Snakes: Artificial Procedures to Overproduce Wild-Type and Mutated Curaremimetic Toxins.- 16. Elapidae Toxins: The Fasciculins, and their Interaction with Acetylcholinesterase.- 17. Dendrotoxins and BPTI-like Proteins.- 18. Sarafotoxins: Cloning of mRNAs Encoding Sarafotoxin Precursors.- 19. Snake Venom Phospholipase A2 Enzymes in Cell Biology.- 20. Polypeptides and Proteins Active in the Coagulation Process.- Guide to Solutions.- Guide to Protocols.- Troubleshooting Guide.

O autorze

Natural toxins form a major component of the molecular tools used
increasingly frequently by the ever growing number of laboratories of
various kinds. Evidence for this is provided not only by the increasing
number of firms including such toxins in their catalogues but also by
the large number of demands received by those who discover new toxins.
Twenty chapters survey important aspects of toxin origin,...