Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Functional Evaluation of Biological Neurotoxins in Networked Cultures of Stem Cell-derived Central Nervous System Neurons
Published on: February 5, 2015
Neuroactive diol and acyloin metabolites from cone snail-associated bacteria
Zhenjian Lin1, Lenny Marett, Ronald W Hughen
1Department of Medicinal Chemistry, L.S. Skaggs Pharmacy Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Abstract:
The bacterium Gordonia sp. 647W.R.1a.05 was cultivated from the venom duct of the cone snail, Conus circumcisus. The Gordonia sp. organic extract modulated the action potential of mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons. Assay-guided fractionation led to the identification of the new compound circumcin A (1) and 11 known analogs (2-12). Two of these compounds, kurasoin B (7) and soraphinol A (8), were active in a human norepinephrine transporter assay with Ki values of 2575 and 867 nM, respectively. No neuroactivity had previously been reported for compounds in this structural class. Gordonia species have been reproducibly isolated from four different cone snail species, indicating a consistent association between these organisms.
Related Concept Videos
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Synthesis
Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action
Cholinergic Neurons: Neurotransmission
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
The direct-acting...
Indirect-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
Reversible inhibitors display short to medium durations of action. Short-acting agents include simple alcohols with...
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Pharmacokinetics

