Abstract

Polyamine toxins from orb weaver spiders are attractive pharmacological tools particularly for studies of ionotropic glutamate (iGlu) receptors in the brain. These polyamine toxins are biosynthesized in a combinatorial manner, providing a plethora of related, but structurally complex toxins to be exploited in biological studies. Here, we have used solid-phase synthetic methodology for the efficient synthesis of Joro spider toxin-4 (JSTX-4) (1) from Nephila clavata, providing sufficient amounts of the toxin for biological evaluation at iGlu receptor subtypes using electrophysiology. Biological evaluation revealed that JSTX-4 inhibits iGlu receptors only in high μM concentrations, thereby being substantially less potent than structurally related polyamine toxins.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call