Abstract
Background: Peptide toxins are naturally occurring rich sources of highly specific bioactive compounds from venomous animals acting on various types of ion channels.
Objective: This study mainly highlights targeting of one of the largest families of ion channels i.e. potassium channels via venom toxins.
Method: Data for reported venom toxins from diverse species is gathered and analyzed at sequence and structural extent.
Results: The similarities and differences among toxins have been demonstrated along with structure activity relationship of potassium channels with these toxins.
Conclusion: This review highlights the importance of functionally important residues and structural scaffolds of venoms interacting with potassium channels.
Keywords: Venom toxins, potassium channels, structure scaffolds, pore blockers, kunitz type toxins, gating modifiers, disulphide bridges.
Graphical Abstract