Recent Advances in the Pharmacology of Toxins

Recent Advances in the Pharmacology of Toxins brings together the proceedings of the Second International Pharmacological Meeting of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on August 20-23, 1963. The meeting provided a forum for discussing advances in the understanding of the pharmacology of toxins and addressed topics ranging from antagonists of bradykinin to the mode of the spread of tetanus toxin in experimental animals. This volume is comprised of 28 chapters and begins with an analysis of the effects of toxins from microorganisms on mammalian cellular metabolism and structure, followed by a review of SRS-A, a slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis, as a potential factor in the symptoms produced by venoms and toxins. Subsequent chapters explore the release of pharmacologically active lipids by enzymes contained in toxins; the structure and function of some enzymes in snake venoms, with reference to disulfide linkages; biochemistry and pharmacology of small-molecular compounds of cobra venom; and the role of ganglioside in the mode of action of tetanus toxin. This book will be of particular value to pharmacologists and physiologists.

List of Authors

General Aspects and Venoms

Opening Remarks

Some Effects of Toxins from Microorganisms on Mammalian Cellular Metabolism and Structure

SRS-A — the Slow-reacting Substance of Anaphylaxis — as a Potential Factor in the Symptoms Produced by Venoms and Toxins

Antagonists of Bradykinin

Liberation of Pharmacologically Active Lipids by Enzymes Contained in Toxins

Recent Studies on Hymenoptera Venoms

Some Pharmacological and Biochemical Characteristics of Centuroides sculpturatus Ewing Scorpion Venom

Pharmacological Analysis of the Venom of the "Bulldog" Ant Myrmecia forficata

Summing up by Chairman

Venoms, Botulinum Toxin, Tetanus Toxin and Streptolysin O

The Structure and Function of Some Enzymes in Snake Venoms with Reference to Disulfide Linkages.

Biochemistry and Pharmacology of Small-Molecular Compounds of Cobra Venom (Naia nivea)

Chemistry and Biological Activity of the Toxin of Clostridium botulinum. The Relation of Some Amino Acids to Toxicity

On the Action of Tetanus Toxin as a Neurotropic Agent

Action of Tetanus Toxin upon Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Spinal Cord of the Cat

The Role of Ganglioside in the Mode of Action of Tetanus Toxin

Studies on the Mode of the Spread of Tetanus Toxin in Experimental Animals

Quantitative Evaluation of EMG during the Development of Tetanus-Toxin Intoxication of Rabbits and its Possible Relation to the Effects of Myorelaxant Drugs

Summing up by Chairman

Introductory Remarks

Studies on the Role of Potassium Ions in the Lethal Toxicity of Streptolysin O

Biological Activity of Cellular Components of Haemolytic Streptococci with Special Reference to Pyrogenicity and Nonspecific Resistance

Staphylotoxin

The Effect of Staphylococcal a-toxin on the Smooth Muscle

Some Effects of Staphylolysin on the Circulation

Effects of Staphylococcal Toxin on Circulation and Respiration in Rabbits

Observations on the Spasmogenic Action of the α-toxin of Staphylococcus pyogenes on Isolated Intestinal Muscle

The Effect of Staphylotoxin on Skeletal Muscle

The Action of Staphylococcus β-hemolysin on Autonomous Functions

Summing up by Chairman

Index