The Structure and Pharmacological Function of the Peptide Toxins from Sea anemone venom

Sea anemone has many tentacles surrounding its mouth and the tentacles are used to protect the anemone and catch its food. The venom in the sea anemone tentacles comprise mainly peptide toxins with molecular weight 3-7 kDa and stabled by several disulfides. Sea anemones are a rich source of two classes of peptide toxins, sodium channel toxins and potassium channel toxins, in additionally, some peptide toxins that targeting other ion channels were also been found in the sea anemone venom. The sea anemone peptide toxins are characterized in their multiform functions and structures, which makes it an important branch of animal venom research. These peptide toxins have been or will be useful tools for studying the structure and function of specific ion channels.