Neurotoxins as tools for studies on receptors

Neurotoxins are well-recognized tools for studies on different classes of receptors. Over the years many new peptide and protein neurotoxins have been isolated from different venoms (snakes, spiders, scorpions and other) or identified via DNA sequencing. A well-known class of peptide toxins, the conotoxins, comes from the venom of the cone snails.

Obviously it is of interest to investigate how neurotoxins bind to their receptors. Scientists work on  novel toxins to get a better selectivity to a particular receptor subtype. This can be applied to quantify levels of the relevant receptors in the brain, and to improve insight in the working mechanism of the receptor that will enable the design of novel drugs that can be used to treat brain diseases.