G. Strichartz, T. Rando, S. Hall
Dec 1, 1986
Citations
1
Influential Citations
62
Citations
Journal
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Abstract
Saxitoxin is a highly specific inhibitor of sodium channels in excitable membranes, usually with high affinity, and showing rapid and complete reversibility. Inasmuch as saxitoxin (STX) and another agent, tetrodotoxin (TTX), bind with high affinity to most sodium channels, studies of their binding site and of their mechanism of action may reveal interesting information about the physiology of the channel itself. In this paper we report the results of four approaches to examine the action of STX: (1) studies of the binding of natural derivatives of saxitoxin, (2) studies of the potency of synthetic analogues of STX, (3) studies of the interference of STX binding by divalent metal and monovalent organic cations, and (4) studies of the interaction between saxitoxin and drugs that modify the gating of Na channels.