PHa1B TOXIN, CDNA OF PHa1 B TOXIN GENE, PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS CONTAINING PHa1B TOXIN, PROCESSES FOR THEIR OBTENTION AND PRODUCT

摘要

Methods and compositions for blocking calcium channels with a spider toxin Phoneutria nigriventer are provided. For easy identification the toxin will be sometimes generally referred to as Pha-1_B during the present description of the invention. The toxin comprises a 55-amino acid toxin having a molecular weight of approximately 6,017. This Pha-1_B spider toxin was found to block calcium channels within the nervous system. The synthetic gene responsible for producing this toxin has been designed and cloned. This gene and/or its derivative provide a mechanism by which the toxin can be produced using recombinant DNA expression technologies. The present invention further relates to methods of treating neurological diseases and pain by applying the isolated and identified toxins. The toxin Pha-1_B may provide beneficial effects on pain and certain neurological conditions including seizures, ischemic- hypoxic, CNS damage, and neurodegenerative disorders. It was also found that the toxins are effective as tags in probing calcium channels.