{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:14:36Z","timestamp":1792790076958,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,12]],"date-time":"2020-04-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1586649600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur F\u00f6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["31003A_162564"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31003A_162564"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"F.W.O. Vlaanderen","award":["GOC2319N, GOA4919N"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GOC2319N, GOA4919N"]}]},{"name":"Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds","award":["CELSA\/17\/047"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CELSA\/17\/047"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010648","name":"Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven, KU Leuven","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PDM\/19\/164"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PDM\/19\/164"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010648","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxins"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The venom of Cupiennius salei is composed of dozens of neurotoxins, with most of them supposed to act on ion channels. Some insecticidal monomeric neurotoxins contain an \u03b1-helical part besides their inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif (type 1). Other neurotoxins have, besides the ICK motif, an \u03b1-helical part of an open loop, resulting in a heterodimeric structure (type 2). Due to their low toxicity, it is difficult to understand the existence of type 2 peptides. Here, we show with the voltage clamp technique in oocytes of Xenopus laevis that a combined application of structural type 1 and type 2 neurotoxins has a much more pronounced cytolytic effect than each of the toxins alone. In biotests with Drosophila melanogaster, the combined effect of both neurotoxins was enhanced by 2 to 3 log units when compared to the components alone. Electrophysiological measurements of a type 2 peptide at 18 ion channel types, expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, showed no effect. Microscale thermophoresis data indicate a monomeric\/heterodimeric peptide complex formation, thus a direct interaction between type 1 and type 2 peptides, leading to cell death. In conclusion, peptide mergers between both neurotoxins are the main cause for the high cytolytic activity of Cupiennius salei venom.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins12040250","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,14]],"date-time":"2020-04-14T03:10:01Z","timestamp":1586833801000},"page":"250","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Neurotoxin Merging: A Strategy Deployed by the Venom of the Spider Cupiennius salei to Potentiate Toxicity on Insects"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Cl\u00e9men\u00e7on","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Kuhn-Nentwig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Langenegger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lukas","family":"Kopp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0504-5702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steve","family":"Peigneur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology and Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Campus Gasthuisberg, O &amp; N 2, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 922, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Tytgat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicology and Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Campus Gasthuisberg, O &amp; N 2, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 922, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wolfgang","family":"Nentwig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benjamin P.","family":"L\u00fcscher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2019, October 15). World Spider Catalog. Version 19.5. 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