[2][4] Its amino-acid sequence is homologous to various other toxins, including SGTx1 (76%) and grammotoxin (43%), both of which have similar gating-modification properties as hanatoxin.
[3] Similar to α-scorpion toxins, Hanatoxin inhibits – but does not block – the activation of, primarily, voltage-gated potassium channels.
The tarantula venom causes localized pain, itching and burning and does not seem to have any long-term effects on humans.
The potassium channels that hanatoxin inhibits have huge diversity and are involved in a number of functions such as regulation of heart rate, insulin injection and muscle contraction.
[14] While HaTx1 has successfully been synthesized by fusion in E. coli bacteria, its yield is very low (~1%), limiting its pharmacological use.