Action of Babycurus-toxin 1 from the east African scorpion Babycurus centrurimorphus on the isolated cockroach giant axon

A toxin named babycurus-toxin 1 (mol. wt 8191), from telson extracts of the scorpion Babycurus centrurimorphus , was found to depolarize the cockroach giant axon. It progressively blocked the evoked action potentials after a short period of limited repetitive activity and after 30 min of toxin action it became impossible to evoke responses to current stimulations. Voltage-clamp experiments on the sodium current indicated that the toxin in micromolar concentrations progressively decreased the transient inward peak sodium current, but also slowed the activation phase of this sodium current and maintained an inward current during the voltage pulses, which deactivated slowly. The toxin also induced in the insect axon a slowly activating-deactivating component of the sodium current. This suggests that the toxin modifies both activation and inactivation mechanisms of sodium channels. Thus there is some similarity in the electrophysiological effects between BcTx1 and the beta-toxins active on mammals. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.