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PROLONGED EFFECTS OF A POST‐SYNAPTIC BLOCKING FRACTION OF NAJA SIAMENSIS VENOM ON SKELETAL MUSCLE OF THE MOUSE
Author(s) -
Tonge D. A.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology and cognate medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0033-5541
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1978.sp002413
Subject(s) - venom , acetylcholine , neuromuscular junction , neuromuscular transmission , acetylcholine receptor , neurotransmission , skeletal muscle , neuromuscular blockade , pharmacology , soleus muscle , chemistry , biology , anatomy , neuroscience , receptor , anesthesia , endocrinology , medicine , biochemistry
A sublethal dose of a post‐synaptic blocking fraction of Naja siamensis venom was injected into the soleus muscle of the mouse inhibiting neuromuscular transmission for 2—3 days. The paralysed soleus muscle behaved as if denervated, developing extra‐junctional sensitivity to acetylcholine and accepting innervation by an implanted foreign nerve. Since the only known action of the post‐synaptic blocking fraction of this venom is due to its affinity to acetylcholine receptors, the results suggest that the spread in the sensitivity of muscle fibres to acetylcholine and their ability to accept a foreign nerve is a consequence of neuromuscular blockade.