Rare Seizure Inducing Snake Venom Finally Decoded

To determine what was really going on, the team then tagged the MmTX pair specifically with a radioactive marker. This allowed them to directly trace what the active ingredient was up to.

They determined that the proteins were actually binding to pores on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called GABA(A) receptors. These receptors normally have only one job: to reset a nerve after it fires a signal.

What they found was that the MmTX were actually tightly lodging themselves into these pores after they opened. Unable to close at all, the nerve cell is never able to reset, causing it to misfire, convulsing the victim and potentially causing death.

Bosmans noted that this was unexpected, because interfering with GABA(A) receptors is commonly used in modern medicine as a form of helpful therapy.

"Anti-anxiety medications like diazepam and alprazolam bind to GABA(A) receptors too, but they cause relaxation instead of seizures because they bind much more loosely," he explained.

What makes this toxin different then is how violently and tightly it lodges itself into the pore, preventing any closing action at all.

Since errors in GABA(A) receptors can cause epilepsy, schizophrenia and chronic pain, the team now hopes that further work with the venom could shed light on the mechanisms of these and other disorders.

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