Sarafotoxins

Sarafotoxins have been purified and sequenced from the venom of the Israeli snake Atractaspis engaddensis. The sarafotoxins, which cause severe coronary vasospasm in snakebite victims, exhibit a remarkable structural and functional homology to the endothelin family. They bind with high affinity to rat atrial and brain membranes and induce the hydrolysis of phosphoinositides in these tissues.

Family Literatur:
Y.Kloog et al., Science, 242, 268 (1988)
C.Takasaki, Nature, 335, 303 (1988)
Y.Kloog and M.Sokolovsky, Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 10, 212 (1989)
M.Yanagisawa and T.Masaki, Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 10, 374 (1989)