This unique volume provides interdisciplinary coverage of the mechanistic perspective of neurotoxicity that focuses on the site of action of known neurotoxins. It provides the reader with an insight into the common characteristics of neurotoxin action on the nervous system and examines sites of action at three levels of complexity: molecular, cellular, and brain, which will allow the development of more specific therapeutic and pharmacological rationales for treatment in the future. Site-Selective Neurotoxicity contains useful information for graduate students and academic and industrial...

Bacteria and plants produce powerful toxins that can cause a variety of diseases, some of which are lethal for many animal species. The mechanisms of action are common to many of these toxins and represent general pathways for the interaction of a number of biomolecules with target cells such as binding to specific surface receptors, internalization and translocation across the cell membrane and interaction with intra-cellular components. Because of their potency in killing eukaryotic cells, they have been used in the development of novel agents for targeted immunotherapy and have been termed...

Pore-forming proteins and peptides play a central role in bacterial pathogenesis, the immune response, defense from venomous attack, and innate immunity. These proteins attack and eliminate other organisms by punching an aqueous channel through their membranes, which disrupts appropriate cell function. The discovery of this cellular interaction has led to an abundance of scientific, medical, and commercial applications with unlimited potential.
Pore-forming Peptides and Protein Toxins describes how natural and synthetic peptides and toxins form pores and ionic channels that cause cell...