Ventura M M
Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasília, DF.
An Acad Bras Cienc. 1988;60(2):155-7.
It is suggested, on the basis of the structural information available from the literature, that the molecules of cobramine B and homologous cytotoxins, in contrast to snake venom neurotoxins, are amphiphilic in the sense that they are composed of a predominantly hydrophobic multi-stranded beta-sheet and other regions sharply hydrophilic. It is possible that the direct lytic activity of snake venom cytotoxins is due, at least in part, to their amphiphathy.