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Science 22 September 1967:
Vol. 157. no. 3795, pp. 1441 - 1442
DOI: 10.1126/science.157.3795.1441
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Articles

Saxitoxin and Tetrodotoxin: Comparison of Nerve Blocking Mechanism

Toshio Narahashi 1, Hans G. Haas 1, and Edward F. Therrien 1

1 Department of Physiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27706

Saxitoxin at concentrations of 3 x 10-8 to 3 x 10-7 mole per liter blocks the conduction of lobster giant axon with no change in resting potential. Recovery of washed axons is faster in those that had been treated with saxitoxin than it is in those that were treated with tetrodotoxin. Peak transient increase in nerve membrane conductance is selectively blocked by saxitoxin with no change in late steady-state increase in conductance. The major mechanism of saxitoxin blockage is the same that of tetrodotoxin blockage.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Saxitoxin Is a Gating Modifier of hERG K+ Channels.
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J. Gen. Physiol. 121, 583-598
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Neuroreceptors and Ion Channels as the Basis for Drug Action: Past, Present, and Future.
T. Narahashi (2000)
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 294, 1-26
   Abstract »    Full Text »
DDT: Interaction with Nerve Membrane Conductance Changes.
T. Narahashi and H. G. Haas (1967)
Science 157, 1438-1440
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)