Toxins 2015, 7(12), 5386-5407; doi:10.3390/toxins7124890
Conotoxins That Could Provide Analgesia through Voltage Gated Sodium Channel Inhibition
Discipline of Pharmacology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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Academic Editor: Luis Botana
Received: 14 August 2015 / Revised: 23 October 2015 / Accepted: 19 November 2015 / Published: 10 December 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conotoxins: Novel Pharmacologies for Nervous System Disorders)
Abstract
Chronic pain creates a large socio-economic burden around the world. It is physically and mentally debilitating, and many suffers are unresponsive to current therapeutics. Many drugs that provide pain relief have adverse side effects and addiction liabilities. Therefore, a great need has risen for alternative treatment strategies. One rich source of potential analgesic compounds that has immerged over the past few decades are conotoxins. These toxins are extremely diverse and display selective activity at ion channels. Voltage gated sodium (NaV) channels are one such group of ion channels that play a significant role in multiple pain pathways. This review will explore the literature around conotoxins that bind NaV channels and determine their analgesic potential. View Full-TextKeywords:
conotoxins; toxins; NaV; ion channels; pain; analgesia; inhibition
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Munasinghe, N.R.; Christie, M.J. Conotoxins That Could Provide Analgesia through Voltage Gated Sodium Channel Inhibition. Toxins 2015, 7, 5386-5407.