Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Identification of Hemolytic and Phospholipase Activity in Crude Extracts from Sea Anemones by Straightforward Bioassays
Published on: March 29, 2022
Novel peptide toxins recently isolated from sea anemones
1Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Konan-4, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan. shiomi@kaiyodai.ac.jp
Abstract:
Sea anemones are a rich source of peptide toxins acting on ion channels. Two classes of peptide toxins, site-3 sodium channel toxins and Kv1 potassium channel toxins, have been well characterized and some of them used as valuable pharmacological reagents. Recently, the following six peptides toxins, which structurally constitute a new family but target different ion channels, have been isolated: BDS-I and -II (Kv3 potassium channel toxins) from Anemonia sulcata, APETx1 (human ether-a-go-go-related gene potassium channel toxin) and APETx2 (acid-sensing sodium channel toxin) from Anthopleura elegantissima, BcIV (sodium channel toxin) from Bunodosoma caissarum and Am II (whose target is unknown) from Antheopsis maculata. In addition, the following structurally novel peptide toxins have also emerged in sea anemones: gigantoxin I (epidermal growth factor-like toxin) from Stichodactyla gigantea and acrorhagins I and II from acrorhagi (specialized aggressive organs) of Actinia equina. This review deals with the structural and functional features of these recently isolated sea anemone peptide toxins that are promising tools in studying the physiology of diverse ion channels.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Toxins
Botulism
Tetanus
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Directly Acting Muscle Relaxants: Dantrolene and Botulinum Toxin
The binding of dantrolene to the RYR1...

