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. 1997 Nov;8(11):2101–2109. doi: 10.1091/mbc.8.11.2101

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Mechanism of blocking neuromuscular transmission. The “motor cabal” of toxins (see text) targets multiple components in the neuromuscular circuit (top panel). Three different toxins (ω-, α- and μ-conotoxins) act on three different target components: 1) presynaptic Ca2+ channels; 2) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; and 3) voltage-gated skeletal muscle Na+ channels. Bottom panel, synergy in Conus venoms is achieved both by inhibiting multiple components as well as multiple sites in a single macromolecular component. Two unrelated toxins (α- and Ψ-conotoxins) inhibit one receptor, the postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at different sites.