Figure 2.

Schematic representation of binding sites and mechanisms of action for disulfide-rich venom peptides acting on voltage-gated ion channels (a,b) and acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) (d). (a) Pore blockers prevent ion conduction by binding to the pore-forming domains; (b) Gating modifiers alter the gating behaviour by binding to the voltage-sensing domains; (c) The mechanism of some gating modifiers involves the binding of the peptide to the cell membrane; (d) Most disulfide-rich venom peptides that inhibit ASICs bind to the large extracellular domain.