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Science 9 December 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5754, p. 1581
DOI: 10.1126/science.310.5754.1581k
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The venom of certain snakes includes neurotoxins capable of paralyzing their victims. Upon intoxication, snake presynaptic phospholipase A2 neurotoxins (SPANs) cause motor nerve terminals in the neuromuscular junction to enlarge and induce exocytosis of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles. Rigoni et al. (p. 1678; see the Perspective by Zimmerberg and Chernomordik) now find that a mixture of lysophospholipids and fatty acids, which are released by SPANs acting on phospholipids, closely mimics all of the biological effects of SPANs. Thus, at the presynaptic membrane, lysophospholipids and fatty acids help to generate a membrane conformation that promotes vesicle exocytosis and also inhibits synaptic vesicle retrieval.




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