Toxins and Ion Channels

Dear Colleagues,

Toxins are usually potent and selective for a given molecular target, and have been frequently used as probes of the structure and function of voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channels. For these reasons, toxins are of substantial interest, as both pharmacological tools and therapeutic leads. They are, thus, particularly interesting for the pharmaceutical industry. Numerous ion channels constitute important targets for the treatment of neurological or cardiovascular diseases. In addition, the ligand-gated ion channels including nicotinic acetylcholine (nAChR), serotonin type 3 (5-HT3R), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAAR), and glycine (GlyR) receptors are of great physiological relevance in many neurological disease pathways. In this Special Issue we welcome papers dealing with new toxins and/or new targets from natural sources or from engineering (chemical or recombinant synthesis). Emphasis on toxin-induced biophysical and pharmacological channel modulation, as well as modeling of toxin-target interactions, will be highly appreciated. Additionally, the selection of toxins with well-characterized mode and mechanism of action is relevant, since these toxins may provide scaffolds for drug design studies and will advance our knowledge and understanding of ion channels in common or neglected diseases.

Dr. Evelyne BENOIT
Dr. Jordi MOLGO
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.