Literature Review of Cellular Relatedness in Toxin and Toxin-Like Nicotinic Receptor Targeting Proteins

Abstract

This project compares venomous and non-venomous snake toxins in their binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) using a literature search and supporting the use of bioinformatics tools. A clear evolutionary functional and structural similarity between venomous toxins such as snake α-neurotoxins and human prototoxins as lynx is documented. This project builds on existing knowledge in disparate fields to bridge knowledge across domains of biology from evolutionary to medical study. In the process of researching and writing this project, the author conducted a literature search and reviewed the previous work on toxins and toxin-like related proteins. This project is slated to be a reference and resource for future studies and hypotheses on toxin proteins and their evolutionary effects on nAChRs.