The pathophysiological mechanism of ciguatera
Vetter, I. (2017). The pathophysiological mechanism of ciguatera. University of Queensland: Oostende.
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Document type: Summary
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| Keywords |
Diseases > Human diseases > Ciguatera
Marine/Coastal |
| Event | Top | Author |
- VLIZ Science Symposium: The Ocean and Human Health, more
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| Abstract |
Ciguatera is a form of ichthysarcotoxism caused by consumption of many species of tropical and subtropical fishes from the lndo-Pacific Oceans and Caribbean Sea that have become contaminated by ciguatoxins, orally effective polyether sodium channel activator toxins that cause characteristic neurological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms in humans. Arguably, ciguatera is the most significant form of fish toxicoses in terms of the number and severity of poisoning episodes. Theincreased harvesting of tropical marine resources together with an increase in incidence, has meant that fish consumption is associated with an increasing incidence of human intoxication, making ciguatera the most common non-bacterial seafood poisoning and a significant health concern globally.Although it is knowns that the ciguatoxins are the most potent sodium channel activators known, the effect on the nine known isoforms of human voltage-gated sodium channels has never been assessed. Using cone snail venom-derived peptides, we determined the molecular basis of ciguatoxin-induced sodium channel dysfunction, which is expected to lead to improved treatment approaches for ciguatera. |
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