Altitoxin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Altitoxin is a neurotoxin found in the South African scorpion Parabuthus transvaalicus. Injection of altitoxin in mice leads to akinesia, depression and death.[1]
.jpg){kind=spacer}
Altitoxin is secreted by the venom gland of the South African spitting (or fattail) scorpion Parabuthus transvaalicus.[1]
Chemistry
Altitoxin, with the amino acid sequence ADVPGNYPLDKDGNTYTCLELGENKDCQKVCKLHGVQYGYCYAFFCWCKELDDKDVSV, is 58 amino acid residues long and has a molecular mass of 6598 Da; it has 3 disulfide bridges (Cys18-Cys41, Cys27-Cys46, and Cys31-Cys48).[1] It has large homology to other toxins from the venom of Parabuthus transvaalicus, including bestoxin, birtoxin, ikitoxin and dortoxin.