Destruction of Mammalian Motor Nerve Terminals by Black Widow Spider Venom

Black widow spider venom selectively poisons motor nerve endings. A progressive and irreversible failure of neuromuscular transmission occurs in the cat. Electron microscopy of the poisoned nerve-muscle junction shows a sequence of motor nerve ending damage that culminates in disruption of the preju...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1971-05, Vol.172 (3984), p.733-736
Main Authors: Okamoto, Michiko, Longenecker, Herbert E., Riker, Walter F., Song, S. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholine - pharmacology
Animals
Cats
Depolarization
Dose response relationship
Microscopy, Electron
Motor Neurons - drug effects
Muscle Contraction - drug effects
Muscles
Nerve endings
Nerve Endings - drug effects
Nerves
Neuromuscular Junction - drug effects
Neuromuscular transmission
Poisoning - pathology
Spider venoms
Spiders
Synapses
Synaptic Transmission - drug effects
Venoms
Venoms - pharmacology
Venoms - poisoning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Black widow spider venom selectively poisons motor nerve endings. A progressive and irreversible failure of neuromuscular transmission occurs in the cat. Electron microscopy of the poisoned nerve-muscle junction shows a sequence of motor nerve ending damage that culminates in disruption of the prejunctional membrane and loss of all organelles, including synaptic vesicles. The postjunctional membrane was morphologically unaffected. After complete poisoning, the contractile response to exogenous acetylcholine was severely impaired, an indication that the prejunctional site is chiefly involved in the contractile response produced by exogenous acetylcholine and that the pre- and postjunctional effects of acetylcholine were separated.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.172.3984.733