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Scorpion toxins are proteins found in the venom of scorpions.Their toxic effect may be mammal- or insect-specific and acts by binding with varying degrees of specificity to members of the Voltage-gated ion channel superfamily; specifically, voltage-gated sodium channels, voltage-gated potassium channels, [3] and Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels.
In another context, the scorpion portrays human sexuality. [10] Scorpions are used in folk medicine in South Asia, especially in antidotes for scorpion stings. [10] One of the earliest occurrences of the scorpion in culture is its inclusion, as Scorpio, in the 12 signs of the Zodiac by Babylonian astronomers during the Chaldean period. [12]
Tb1 is a sodium channel scorpion toxin (NaScTx) and belongs to the beta toxin subfamily. [2] Within the NaScTx family, Tb1 is part of the NaTx6 cluster. This cluster consists of four toxins found in the venom of scorpions that inhabit the Southern area of the Amazonian rainforest: Tco-gamma, Tst1, Tb1 and the previously mentioned Ts1.
The crude venom of T. serrulatus contains different toxins. Some of the strongest derivates are the neurotoxins tityustoxin and toxin Ts-g. [3] Two types of toxins are considered to be responsible for the main toxic effect: toxin gamma (a β-type toxin) and tityustoxin (TsTX, an α-type toxin), both with a specific affinity to the sodium channel. [4]
Cm28, a scorpion toxin from Centruroides margaritatus, selectively blocks voltage-gated potassium channels K V 1.2 and K V 1.3 with high affinity. [1] It also suppresses the activation of human CD4 + effector memory T cells, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent for autoimmune diseases.
The composition of scorpion venom consists of different compounds of varying concentrations. The compounds consist of neurotoxins, cardiotoxin, nephrotoxin, hemolytic toxin, phosphodiesterases, phospholipase, histamine, serotonin, etc. Of these different toxins, the most important and most potent one is the neurotoxin concentration.
Margatoxin is a peptide originally purified from the venom of the scorpion Centrutoides margaritatus (Central American Bark Scorpion). Scorpion toxins are specific and have a high affinity for their targets, and this makes them good tools to characterize various receptor proteins involved in ion channel functioning.
The toxin κ-KTx2.5 is part of the κ-family of potassium-channel toxins (κ-KTxs), [1] and was identified in the scorpion Opisthacanthus cayaporum.The first κ-KTx were isolated from the Scorpionidae Heterometrus fulvipes [2] and systematically named κ-KTx1.n, being 'n' the order number in which they were found and described.