calca-protein--human and Ciguatera-Poisoning

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are marine toxins that cause ciguatera fish poisoning, a debilitating disease dominated by sensory and neurological disturbances that include cold allodynia and various painful symptoms as well as long-lasting pruritus. Although CTXs are known as the most potent mammalian sodium channel activator toxins, the etiology of many of its neurosensory symptoms remains unresolved. We recently described that local application of 1 nM Pacific Ciguatoxin-1 (P-CTX-1) into the skin of human subjects induces a long-lasting, painful axon reflex flare and that CTXs are particularly effective in releasing calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP) from nerve terminals. In this study, we used mouse and rat skin preparations and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to study the molecular mechanism by which P-CTX-1 induces CGRP release. We show that P-CTX-1 induces CGRP release more effectively in mouse as compared to rat skin, exhibiting EC

Topics: Animals; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Calcium; Ciguatera Poisoning; Ciguatoxins; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Hyperalgesia; Lidocaine; Male; Marine Toxins; Membrane Potentials; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; NAV1.1 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; NAV1.9 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; Rats; Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Tetrodotoxin