Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bohlen CJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2905675 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Bohlen Christopher J CJ Priel Avi A Zhou Sharleen S King David D Siemens Jan J Julius David D
Cell 20100501 5
Toxins have evolved to target regions of membrane ion channels that underlie ligand binding, gating, or ion permeation, and have thus served as invaluable tools for probing channel structure and function. Here, we describe a peptide toxin from the Earth Tiger tarantula that selectively and irreversibly activates the capsaicin- and heat-sensitive channel, TRPV1. This high-avidity interaction derives from a unique tandem repeat structure of the toxin that endows it with an antibody-like bivalency. ...[more]