Apamin Apamin Apamin is an 18 amino acid peptide neurotoxin found in apitoxin (bee venom). Dry bee venom consists of 2–3% of apamin. Apamin selectively blocks SK channels, a type of Ca-activated K channel expressed in the central nervous system. Toxicity is caused by only a few amino acids, these are cysteine, lysine, arginine, arginine and histidine. These amino acids are involved in the binding of apamin to the Ca-activated K channel. Due to its specificity for SK channels, apamin is used as a drug in biomedical research to study the electrical properties of SK channels and their role in the
Platypus venom Platypus venom The platypus is one of the few living mammals to produce venom. Males have a pair of spurs on their hind limbs that secrete venom that is active only in breeding season, supporting the theory that the use of venom is for competition for mates, not for protection. While the spur remains available for defense, outside of breeding season the platypus's venom gland lacks secretion. While the venom's effects are described as excruciatingly painful, it is not lethal to humans. Many archaic mammal groups possess similar tarsal spurs, so it is thought that, rather than having developed this