Journal article
Senecioylcholine in Heterometrus spinifer scorpion venom activates vertebrate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Frontiers in Arachnid Science, Vol.5, pp.1-9
2026
Abstract
Introduction: Scorpion venoms are natural sources of neurotoxins that primarily modulate the properties of neuronal ion channels, particularly voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels. However, they also contain a variety of small bioactive molecules that have been largely neglected in the omics era of toxinological research.Methods: In the present study, we employed a high-throughput FLIPR screen of arthropod venoms against nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed in the human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line.Results: The venom of the Malaysian forest scorpion Heterometrus spinifer (family: Scorpionidae) proved to be an agonist of nAChRs, and the small choline ester senecioylcholine was identified as being responsible for the observed effect. Synthetic senecioylcholine and its isomers tigloylcholine and angeloylcholine were not insecticidal when injected into sheep blowflies.Discussion: Based on previous reports of senecioylcholine being toxic to vertebrates along with the agonistic effect we observed on human nAChRs, we postulate that senecioylcholine in scorpion venom is likely to assist with vertebrate prey capture and defense against vertebrate predators. Since senecioylcholine has only been previously reported in marine gastropods and moths, its presence in scorpion venom seems to represent an unusual case of convergent evolution.
Details
- Title
- Senecioylcholine in Heterometrus spinifer scorpion venom activates vertebrate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
- Authors
- Rosa E. Prahl - The University of QueenslandPratik Neupane - The University of QueenslandAngela A. Salim - The University of QueenslandRichard J. Lewis - The University of QueenslandIrina Vetter - The University of QueenslandRobert J. Capon - The University of QueenslandGlenn F. King (Corresponding Author) - The University of QueenslandVolker Herzig (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Frontiers in Arachnid Science, Vol.5, pp.1-9
- Publisher
- Frontiers Research Foundation
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.3389/frchs.2026.1888189
- ISSN
- 2813-5083
- Copyright note
- © 2026 Prahl, Neupane, Salim, Lewis, Vetter, Capon, King and Herzig. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Data Availability
- The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.
- Grants
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991247285502621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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