Llewellyn Lyndon E
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville MC, QLD 4810, Australia.
Prog Mol Subcell Biol. 2009;46:67-97. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-87895-7_3.
Saxitoxin (STX), tetrodotoxin (TTX) and their many chemical relatives are part of our daily lives. From killing people who eat seafood containing these toxins, to being valuable research tools unveiling the invisible structures of their pharmacological receptor, their global impact is beyond measure. The pharmacological receptor for these toxins is the voltage-gated sodium channel which transports Na ions between the exterior to the interior of cells. The two structurally divergent families of STX and TTX analogues bind at the same location on these Na channels to stop the flow of ions. This can affect nerves, muscles and biological senses of most animals. It is through these and other toxins that we have developed much of our fundamental understanding of the Na channel and its part in generating action potentials in excitable cells.
石房蛤毒素（STX）、河豚毒素（TTX）及其众多化学衍生物存在于我们的日常生活中。从致使食用含有这些毒素的海鲜的人死亡，到成为揭示其药理学受体无形结构的宝贵研究工具，它们在全球范围内的影响不可估量。这些毒素的药理学受体是电压门控钠通道，该通道在细胞外部和内部之间转运钠离子。结构上不同的两类石房蛤毒素和河豚毒素类似物在这些钠通道的同一位置结合，以阻止离子流动。这会影响大多数动物的神经、肌肉和生物感官。正是通过这些毒素以及其他毒素，我们才对钠通道及其在可兴奋细胞中产生动作电位的作用有了许多基本认识。
