Summarises the main types of snake venoms, and the venom of the beaded lizard, classified based on mechanisms of action. Includes example species which possess each venom (neurotoxins, cytotoxins, dendrotoxins and others)
- Neurotoxic peptides mainly found in snakes of the families Elapidae and Hydrophiidae #
- Classified into α-, β- and κ-neurotoxins
- Act on the nervous system by inhibiting Ach action at the postsynaptic membranes, causing
paralysis, respiratory failure and death
- Species include Taiwanese banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), Indo-Chinese spitting
cobra (Naja siamensis) and Black banded sea krait (Pseudolaticauda semifasciata)
- Presynaptic neurotoxins produced by mamba snakes
- Blocks subtypes of voltage-gated potassium channels in neurons, enhancing the release of
Ach at neuromuscular junctions
- Over-stimulation of neuromuscular junction leads to hyper-excitability and convulsions
- Produced by the mamba snakes: Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps),
Jameson’s mamba (D. jamesoni), Black mamba (D. polylepis) and Western green mamba
(D. viridis)
- Examples: Dendrotoxins 1, 3, 7, Dendrotoxin K
Cardiotoxins
- Also known as cytotoxins, they are found in cobra venoms, and are characterized by a
three-fold structure
- These toxins disrupt the membranes of neuronal, skeletal and cardiac muscle cells,
resulting in Ca2+ influx, hence causing muscle contraction, cell lysis and cardiac arrest
- Suspected uses in cancer treatments
- Species include Black necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), Taiwan cobra (Naja atra)
- Examples: Cardiotoxin III, Naja nigricollis y-toxin
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