Spider black widow

Neurotoxin that produces a massive release of transmitters from cholinergic and adrenergic nerve endings resulting in continuous stimulation of muscles. It also induces formation of an ion channel allowing the inward flow of calcium ions into the nerve cell. It is a white powder obtained from the venom of the black widow spider. 

Casern, M. L., Tran, L. P. P., and Moore, A. M. F. (2002). Ultrastructure of the major ampullate gland of the black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus. Tissue Cell 34, 427-436. 

The amount of acetylcholine present in the synapse and the amount of time that it remains there are critical. For example, the venom of the black widow spider is highly neurotoxic. It contains a protein known as a-latrotoxin that elicits the release of massive amounts of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. Too much of a good thing can be a serious problem. 

We noted above that too much acetylcholine in the synapse or at a neuromuscular junction can be a problem black widow spider venom works that way by causing massive release of this neurotransmitter. There is another way to accomplish the same thing inhibit the normal route by which acetylcholine once released is subsequently removed. That route is degradation by acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that catalyzes... 

Calcium chloride and gluconate - A6 unct /e therapy in the treatment of insect bites or stings, such as Black Widow spider bites to relieve muscle cramping sensitivity reactions, particularly when characterized by urticaria depression due to overdosage of magnesium sulfate acute symptoms of lead colic rickets osteomalacia. 

Antivenins capable of neutralizing the toxins present in the venom of various poisonous spiders are also available. The major preparations available include Latrodectus mactans antivenin, which contains antibodies raised against the venom of the black widow spider, and... 

Priapism is an abnormal, painful, and persistent erection, not related to sexual arousal, which can be caused by a variety of conditions (e.g., neurological, hematological, local trauma, and scorpion or black widow spider bites). Its occurrence also has been associated with various drugs, including the following ... 

Black widow spider bite Antivenin (Latrodectus mactans), equine One vial (6000 units) IV or IM. For persons with hypertensive cardiovascular disease or age < 16 or > 60 years. 

Grishin, E. V. (1996). Neurotoxin from black widow spider venom. Structure and function. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 391 231-236. 

Ross, K. and Smith, R. L. (1979). Aspects of the courtship behavior of the black widow spider Latrodectus hesperus (Araneae Theridiidae), with evidence for the existence of a contact sex pheromone. Journal of Arachnology 7 69-77. 

Abstract a-Latrotoxin (a-LTX) from black widow spider venom induces exhaustive release of neurotransmitters from vertebrate nerve terminals and endocrine cells. This 130-kDa protein has been employed for many years as a molecular tool to study exocytosis. However, its action is complex in neurons, a-LTX induces massive secretion both in the presence of extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+e) and in its absence in endocrine cells, it usually requires Ca2+e. To use this toxin for further dissection of secretory mechanisms, one needs an in-depth understanding of its... 

Ceccarelli B, Grohovaz F, Hurlbut WP (1979) Freeze-fracture studies of frog neuromuscular junctions during intense release of neurotransmitter. I. Effects of black widow spider venom and Ca2+-free solutions on the structure of the active zone. J Cell Biol 81 163-77 Ceccarelli B, Hurlbut WP (1980) Ca2+-dependent recycling of synaptic vesicles at the frog neuromuscular junction. J Cell Biol 87 297-303... 

D Amour F, Becker FE, van Riper W (1936) The black widow spider. Q Rev Biol 11 123-60 Davletov BA, Krasnoperov V, Hata Y et al (1995) High affinity binding of a-latrotoxin to recombinant neurexin la. J Biol Chem 270 23903-5... 

Dudanova I, Sedej S, Ahmad M et al (2006) Important contribution of a-neurexins to Ca2+-triggered exocytosis of secretory granules. J Neurosci 26 10599-613 Fesce R, Segal JR, Ceccarelli B et al (1986) Effects of black widow spider venom and Ca2+ on quantal secretion at the frog neuromuscular junction. J Gen Physiol 88 59-81 Filippov AK, Tertishnikova SM, Alekseev AE et al (1994) Mechanism of a-latrotoxin action as revealed by patch-clamp experiments on Xenopus oocytes injected with rat brain messenger RNA. Neuroscience 61 179-89... 

Finkelstein A, Rubin LL, Tzeng M-C (1976) Black widow spider venom effect of purified toxin on lipid bilayer membranes. Science 193 1009-11 Fredriksson R, Schioth HB (2005) The repertoire of G-protein-coupled receptors in fully sequenced genomes. Mol Pharmacol 67 1414-25... 

Frontali N, Ceccarelli B, Gorio A et al (1976) Purification from black widow spider venom of a protein factor causing the depletion of synaptic vesicles at neuromuscular junctions. J Cell Biol... 

Hlubek MD, Stuenkel EL, Krasnoperov VG et al (2000) Calcium-independent receptor for a-latrotoxin and neurexin la facilitate toxin-induced channel formation evidence that channel formation results from tethering of toxin to membrane. Mol Pharmacol 57 519-28 Hurlbut WP, Ceccarelli B (1979) Use of black widow spider venom to study the release of neurotransmitters. Adv Cytopharmacol 3 87-115 87-115 Hurlbut WP, Chieregatti E, Valtorta F et al (1994) a-Latrotoxin channels in neuroblastoma cells. JMembr Biol 138 91-102... 

Liu J, Wan Q, Lin X et al (2005) a-Latrotoxin modulates the secretory machinery via receptor-mediated activation of protein kinase C. Traffic 6 756-65 Long SB, Campbell EB, Mackinnon R (2005) Crystal structure of a mammalian voltage-dependent Shaker family K+ channel. Science 309 897-903 Longenecker HE, Hurlbut WP, Mauro A et al (1970) Effects of black widow spider venom on the frog neuromuscular junction. Effects on end-plate potential, miniature end-plate potential and nerve terminal spike. Nature 225 701-3... 

Mee CJ, Tomlinson SR, Perestenko PV et al (2004) Latrophilin is required for toxicity of black widow spider venom in Caenorhabditis elegans. Biochem J 378 185-91 Meiri H, Erulkar SD, Lerman T et al (1981) The action of the sodium ionophore, monensin, or transmitter release at the frog neuromuscular junction. Brain Res 204 204-8 Meldolesi J, Huttner WB, Tsien RY et al (1984) Free cytoplasmic Ca2+ and neurotransmitter release studies on PCI 2 cells and synaptosomes exposed to a-latrotoxin. Proc Natl Acad Sci US A 81 6204... 

Misler S, Falke LC (1987) Dependence on multivalent cations of quantal release of transmitter induced by black widow spider venom. Am J Physiol 253 C469-76 Misler S, Hurlbut WP (1979) Action of black widow spider venom on quantized release of acetylcholine at the frog neuromuscular junction dependence upon external Mg2+. Proc Nad Acad Sci U S A 76 991-5... 

Silva AM, Liu-Gentry J, Dickey AS et al (2005) a-Latrotoxin increases spontaneous and depolarization-evoked exocytosis from pancreatic islet P-cells. J Physiol 565 783-99 Siu R, Fladd C, Rotin D (2006) N-cadherin is an in vivo substrate for PTPo and partidpates in PTPo-mediated inhibition of axon growth. Mol Cell Biol 27 208-19 Smith DS, Russell FE (1966) Structure of the venom gland of the black widow spider Latrodectus mactans. A preliminary light and electron microscopic study. In Russell FE, Saunders PR (eds) Animal Toxins, Oxford, Pergamon, pp 1-15... 

Tse FW, Tse A (1999) a-Latrotoxin stimulates inward current, rise in cytosolic calcium concentration, and exocytosis in pituitary gonadotropes. Endocrinology 140 3025-33 Tzeng MC, Cohen RS, Siekevitz P (1978) Release of neurotransmitters and depletion of synaptic vesicles in cerebral cortex slices by a-latrotoxin from black widow spider venom. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 75 4016-20... 

Tzeng MC, Siekevitz P (1979) The binding interaction between a-latrotoxin from black widow spider venom and a dog cerebral cortex synaptosomal membrane preparation. J Neurochem... 

Vicentini LM, Meldolesi J (1984) a Latrotoxin of black widow spider venom binds to a specific receptor coupled to phosphoinositide breakdown in PC 12 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 121 538-44... 

Volkova TM, Pluzhnikov KA, Woll PG et al (1995) Low-molecular-weight components from black-widow spider venom. Toxicon 33 483-9... 

Wanke E, Ferroni A, Gattanini P et al (1986) a-Latrotoxin of the black widow spider venom opens a small, non-closing cation channel. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 134 320-5 Watanabe O, Meldolesi J (1983) The effects of a-latrotoxin of black widow spider venom on synaptosome ultrastructure. A morphometric analysis correlating its effects on transmitter release. J Neurocytol 12 517-31... 

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