Abstract
Conotoxins are small peptides present in the venom of cone snails. The snail
uses this venom to paralyze and capture prey. The constituent conopeptides display a high
level of chemical diversity and are of particular interest for scientists as tools employed in
neurological studies and for drug development, because they target with exquisite
specificity membrane receptors, transporters, and various ion channels in the nervous
system. However, these peptides are known to contain a high frequency and variability of
post-translational modifications—including sometimes O-glycosylation—which are of
importance for biological activity. The potential application of specific conotoxins as
neuropharmalogical agents and chemical probes requires a full characterization of the
relevant peptides, including the structure of the carbohydrate part. In this review, the
currently existing knowledge of O-glycosylation of conotoxins is described.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 623-642 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Marine Drugs |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |