Cangitoxin is a polypeptide isolated from the venom of Bunodosoma cangicum, a common sea anemone species found in the intertidal zone during low tides on the coastal reefs of the Brazilian seashore.
[1][2] Cangitoxin belongs to the type 1 class sea anemone toxins, consisting of long polypeptides with short anti-parallel β–sheets and three disulfide bonds.
[6] On the basis of its sequence homology, cangitoxin most likely acts on the same receptor site of the previously mentioned sodium channels.
[6] According to its sequence homology, it is likely that cangitoxin prolongs the inactivation of the voltage-gated sodium channels by binding on the external side of the plasma membrane, thereby preventing the outward movement of the IVS4 transmembrane segment.
[4] Intrahippocampal injection of 8 μg of cangitoxin in rats has strong behavioral effects, leading to akinesia interchanging with facial automatisms and head tremor, salivation, rearing, jumping, barrel-rolling, wet dog shakes and forelimb clonic movements.