Effects On Animals
Margatoxin leads to the depolarization of human and pig cells in vitro. By blocking 99% of the KV1.3-channels, margatoxin inhibits the proliferation response of T-cells in mini-swine. Furthermore it suppresses a B-cell response to allogenic immunization and inhibits the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to tuberculin. In pigs, the protein’s half-life is two hours. When the peptide is continuously infused, it leads to diarrhea and hypersalivation. However, no major toxic effects are observed in animals. In contrast to when the plasma concentration of margatoxin is higher than 10nM, the transient hyperactivity occurs in pigs. It might be an effect of Kv1.1 and Kv1.2 channels in the brain.
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