BTX

538.681

538.67

Noncrystal

104

log Kow = 3.86 (est)

1.1575 (rough estimate)

744ºC at 760mmHg

403.8ºC

1.642

In water, 2.8 mg/L at 25 °C (est)

Store at -20°C

7.49X10-16 mm Hg at 25 °C (est)

Peritoneal-mouse LD50: 0.002 mg/kg; subcutaneous-mouse LD50: 0.002 mg/kg

Flammable; burning produces toxic nitrogen oxide fumes

24584 -5 To -10°; 24300 -260° (c = 0.23 in methanol)

Henry's Law constant = 1.40X10-21 atm-cu m/mol at 25 °C (est)

pKa = 7.45

538.60

III

6.1(b)

3172

CR3990000

Ventilated, low temperature and dry; stored separately from food materials in warehouse

SRP: Recycle any unused portion of the material for its approved use or return it to the manufacturer or supplier. Ultimate disposal of the chemical must consider: the material's impact on air quality; potential migration in air, soil or water; effects on animal, aquatic and plant life; and conformance with environmental and public health regulations. If it is possible or reasonable use an alternative chemical product with less inherent propensity for occupational harm/injury/toxicity or environmental contamination.

most toxic

IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Batrachotoxins are neurotoxic steroidal alkaloids first isolated from a Colombian poison-dart frog and later found in certain passerine birds of New Guinea. Neither vertebrate group is thought to produce the toxins de novo, but instead they likely sequester them from dietary sources. HUMAN STUDIES: Batrachotoxin is a potent modulator of voltage-gated sodium channels, leading to irreversible depolarization of nerves and muscles, fibrillation, arrhythmias and eventually cardiac failure. Since its discovery, field researchers also reported numbness after their skin came into contact with this toxin. ANIMAL STUDIES: Levels of batrachotoxin tend to be reduced when P. terribilis is maintained in captivity, but even after being confined for up to 6 years, these frogs were still at least five times more toxic than other Phyllobates species used by natives for poisoning blowgun darts. Batrachotoxin was not detectable in F1 progeny reared to maturity in captivity. Nerve and muscle preparations from wild-caught frogs and from the nontoxic F1 frogs were both insensitive to batrachotoxin. The regulatory site controlling sodium-channel activation and permeability appears to have been minimally altered to prevent interaction with batrachotoxin, but is still sensitive to other sodium conductance activators (veratridine, grayanotoxin) to which the frogs are not exposed naturally.

Two distinct types of local anesthetics (LAs) have previously been found to block batrachotoxin (BTX)-modified Na+ channels: type 1 LAs such as cocaine and bupivacaine interact preferentially with open channels, whereas type 2 LAs, such as benzocaine and tricaine, with inactivated channels. Herein, we describe our studies of a third type of LA, represented by tetracaine as a dual blocker that binds strongly with closed channels but also binds to a lesser extent with open channels when the membrane is depolarized. Enhanced inactivation of BTX-modified Na+ channels by tetracaine was determined by steady-state inactivation measurement and by the dose-response curve. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was estimated to be 5.2 microM at -70 mV, where steady-state inactivation was maximal, with a Hill coefficient of 0.98 suggesting that one tetracaine molecule binds with one inactivated channel. Tetracaine also interacted efficiently with Na+ channels when the membrane was depolarized; the IC50 was estimated to be 39.5 microM at +50 mV with a Hill coefficient of 0.94. Unexpectedly, charged tetracaine was found to be the primary active form in the blocking of inactivated channels. In addition, external Na+ ions appeared to antagonize the tetracaine block of inactivated channels. Consistent with these results, N-butyl tetracaine quaternary ammonium, a permanently charged tetracaine derivative, remained a strong inactivation enhancer. Another derivative of tetracaine, 2-(di-methylamino) ethyl benzoate, which lacked a 4-butylamino functional group on the phenyl ring, elicited block that was approximately 100-fold weaker than that of tetracaine. We surmise that 1) the binding site for inactivation enhancers is within the Na+ permeation pathway, 2) external Na+ ions antagonize the block of inactivation enhancers by electrostatic repulsion, 3) the 4-butylamino functional group on the phenyl ring is critical for block and for the enhancement of inactivation, and 4) there are probably overlapping binding sites for both inactivation enhancers and open-channel blockers within the Na+ pore|PURPOSE: To investigate the response to general anesthetics of different sodium-channel subtypes, we examined the effects of pentobarbital, a close thiopental analogue, on single sodium channels from human skeletal muscle and compared them to existing data from human brain and human ventricular muscle channels. METHODS: Sodium channels from a preparation of human skeletal muscle were incorporated into planar lipid bilayers, and the steady-state behavior of single sodium channels and their response to pentobarbital was examined in the presence of batrachotoxin, a sodium-channel activator. Single-channel currents were recorded before and after the addition of pentobarbital (0.34-1.34 mM). RESULTS: In symmetrical 500 mM NaCl, human skeletal muscle sodium channels had an averaged single-channel conductance of 21.0 +/- 0.6 pS, and the channel fractional open time was 0.96 +/- 0.04. The activation midpoint potential was -96.2 +/- 1.6 mV. Extracellular tetrodotoxin blocked the channel with a half-maximal concentration (k1/2) of 60 nM at 0 mV. Pentobarbital reduced the time-averaged conductance of single skeletal muscle sodium channels in a concentration-dependent manner (inhibitory concentration 50% [IC50] = 0.66 mM). The steady-state activation was shifted to more hyperpolarized potentials (-16.7 mV at 0.67 mM pentobarbital). CONCLUSION: In the planar lipid bilayer system, skeletal muscle sodium channels have some electrophysiological properties that are significantly different compared with those of sodium channels from cardiac or from central nervous tissue. In contrast to the control data, these different human sodium channel subtypes showed the same qualitative and quantitative response to the general anesthetic pentobarbital. The implication of these effects for overall anesthesia will depend on the role the individual channels play within their neuronal networks, but suppression of both central nervous system and peripheral sodium channels may add to general anesthetic effects|We have investigated the action of procainamide on batrachotoxin (BTX)-activated sodium channels from bovine heart and rat skeletal muscle. When applied to the intracellular side, procainamide induced rapid, open-channel block. We estimated rate constants using amplitude distribution analysis. Membrane depolarization increased the blocking rate and slowed unblock. The rate constants were similar in both magnitude and voltage dependence for cardiac and skeletal muscle channels. Qualitatively, this block resembled the fast open-channel block by lidocaine, but procainamide was about sevenfold less potent. Molecular modeling suggests that the difference in potency between procainamide and lidocaine might arise from the relative orientation of their aromatic rings, or from differences in the structure of the aryl-amine link. For the cardiac channels, procainamide reduced the frequency of transitions to a long-lived closed state which shows features characteristic of inactivation. Mean durations of kinetically identified closed states were not affected. The degree of fast block and of inhibition of the slow closures were correlated. Internally applied QX-314, a lidocaine derivative and also a fast blocker, produced a similar effect. Thus, drug binding to the fast blocking site appears to inhibit inactivation in BTX-activated cardiac channels.|The purpose of the present study was to examine the characteristics of Na+ channel modification by batrachotoxin (BTX) in cardiac cells, including changes in channel gating and kinetics as well as susceptibility to block by local anesthetic agents. We used the whole cell configuration of the patch clamp technique to measure Na+ current in guinea pig myocytes. Extracellular Na+ concentration and temperature were lowered (5-10 mM, 17 degrees C) in order to maintain good voltage control. Our results demonstrated that 1) BTX modifies cardiac INa, causing a substantial steady-state (noninactivating) component of INa, 2) modification of cardiac Na+ channels by BTX shifts activation to more negative potentials and reduces both maximal gNa and selectivity for Na+; 3) binding of BTX to its receptor in the cardiac Na+ channel reduces the affinity of local anesthetics for their binding site; and 4) BTX-modified channels show use-dependent block by local anesthetics. The reduced blocking potency of local anesthetics for BTX-modified Na+ channels probably results from an allosteric interaction between BTX and local anesthetics for their respective binding sites in the Na+ channel. Our observations that use-dependent block by local anesthetics persists in BTX-modified Na+ channels suggest that this form of extra block can occur in the virtual absence of the inactivated state. Thus, the development of use-dependent block appears to rely primarily on local anesthetic binding to activated Na+ channels under these conditions.|For more Interactions (Complete) data for Batrachotoxin (6 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

LD50 Mice iv 0.002 mg/kg|LD50 Mice dermal 2 ug/kg

/AQUATIC SPECIES/ A radiosodium flux assay was employed to characterize the pharmacological properties of trout brain voltage-sensitive sodium channels and to define the response of those channels to the synthetic pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin. The uptake of 22Na+ into trout brain synaptoneurosomes was measured in the presence of a number of sodium channel-directed ligands. The sodium channel activators aconitine, veratridine, and batrachotoxin stimulated 22Na+ uptake into trout brain synaptoneurosomes in a dose-dependent manner. Batrachotoxin was the most efficacious and potent activator having a maximal sodium uptake at saturating concentrations (Emax) of 62 nmol/mg protein and a concentration producing a half maximal response (K05) of 35 uM. ... Deltamethrin also caused a three-fold shift in the potency of batrachotoxin with no effect on Emax. ...

Batrachotoxin is the active principal steroidal alkaloid isolated from poison-dart (poison-arrow) frogs of the genus Phyllobates.

Batrachotoxin is a potent modulator of voltage-gated sodium channels, leading to irreversible depolarization of nerves and muscles, fibrillation, arrhythmias and eventually cardiac failure. Since its discovery, field researchers also reported numbness after their skin came into contact with this toxin. Intrigued by this phenomenon, we determined the effect of batrachotoxin on the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.8, which is considered to be a key player in nociception. As a result, we discovered that batrachotoxin profoundly modulates this channel: the inactivation process is severely altered, the voltage-dependence of activation is shifted towards more hyperpolarized potentials resulting in the opening of Nav1.8 at more negative membrane potentials and the ion selectivity is modified.|Batrachotoxin (BTX), from South American frogs of the genus Phyllobates, irreversibly activates voltage-gated sodium channels. Previous work demonstrated that a phenylalanine residue approximately halfway through pore-lining transmembrane segment IVS6 is a critical determinant of channel sensitivity to BTX. In this study, we introduced a series of mutations at this site in the Na(v)1.3 sodium channel, expressed wild-type and mutant channels in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and examined their sensitivity to BTX using voltage clamp recording. We found that substitution of either alanine or isoleucine strongly reduced channel sensitivity to toxin, whereas cysteine, tyrosine, or tryptophan decreased toxin action only modestly. These data suggest an electrostatic ligand-receptor interaction at this site, possibly involving a charged tertiary amine on BTX. We then used a mutant channel (mutant F1710C) with intermediate toxin sensitivity to examine the properties of the toxin-receptor reaction in more detail. In contrast to wild-type channels, which bind BTX almost irreversibly, toxin dissociation from mutant channels was rapid, but only when the channels were open, not when they were closed. These data suggest the closed activation gate trapped bound toxin. Although BTX dissociation required channel activation, it was, paradoxically, slowed by strong membrane depolarization, suggesting additional state-dependent and/or electrostatic influences on the toxin binding reaction. We propose that BTX moves to and from its receptor through the cytoplasmic end of the open ion-conducting pore, in a manner similar to that of quaternary local anesthetics like QX314.|The binding site for batrachotoxin, a lipid-soluble neurotoxin acting at Na+ channel receptor site 2, was localized using a photoreactive radiolabeled batrachotoxin derivative to covalently label purified and reconstituted rat brain Na+ channels. In the presence of the brevetoxin 1 from Ptychodiscus brevis and the pyrethroid RU51049, positive allosteric enhancers of batrachotoxin binding, a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 240 kDa corresponding to the Na+ channel alpha subunit was specifically covalently labeled. The region of the alpha subunit specifically photolabeled by the photoreactive batrachotoxin derivative was identified by antibody mapping of proteolytic fragments. Even after extensive trypsinization, and anti-peptide antibody recognizing an amino acid sequence adjacent to Na+ channel transmembrane segment IS6 was able to immunoprecipitate up to 70% of the labeled peptides. Analysis of a more complete digestion with trypsin or V8 protease indicated that the batrachotoxin receptor site is formed in part by a portion of domain I. The identification of a specifically immunoprecipitated photolabeled 7.3-kDa peptide containing transmembrane segment S6 from domain I restricted the site of labeling to residues Asn-388 to Glu-429 if V8 protease digestion was complete or Leu-380 to Glu-429 if digestion was incomplete. These results implicate the S6 transmembrane region of domain I of the Na+ channel alpha subunit as an important component of the batrachotoxin receptor site.|The steroidal neurotoxin (-)-batrachotoxin functions as a potent agonist of voltage-gated sodium ion channels (NaVs). Here we report concise asymmetric syntheses of the natural (-) and non-natural (+) antipodes of batrachotoxin, as well both enantiomers of a C-20 benzoate-modified derivative. Electrophysiological characterization of these molecules against NaV subtypes establishes the non-natural toxin enantiomer as a reversible antagonist of channel function, markedly different in activity from (-)-batrachotoxin. Protein mutagenesis experiments implicate a shared binding side for the enantiomers in the inner pore cavity of NaV. These findings motivate and enable subsequent studies aimed at revealing how small molecules that target the channel inner pore modulate NaV dynamics.|Batrachotoxins (BTX): Neurotoxin, activates sodium ion channels, digitalis (digitoxin)-like cardiotoxin, causes fibrillation and cardiac arrest. /from table/

/SRP:/ Immediate first aid: Ensure that adequate decontamination has been carried out. If patient is not breathing, start artificial respiration, preferably with a demand valve resuscitator, bag-valve-mask device, or pocket mask, as trained. Perform CPR if necessary. Immediately flush contaminated eyes with gently flowing water. Do not induce vomiting. If vomiting occurs, lean patient forward or place on the left side (head-down position, if possible) to maintain an open airway and prevent aspiration. Keep patient quiet and maintain normal body temperature. Obtain medical attention. /Etiological Agents/|/SRP:/ Basic Treatment: Establish a patent airway (oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airway, if needed). Suction if necessary. Watch for signs of respiratory insufficiency and assist ventilations if needed. Administer oxygen by nonrebreather mask at 10 to 15 L/min. For eye contamination, flush eyes immediately with water. Irrigate each eye continuously with 0.9% saline (NS) during transport ... . /Etiological Agents/|/SRP:/ Advanced treatment: Consider orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation for airway control in the patient who is unconscious or is in severe respiratory distress. Monitor cardiac rhythm and treat arrhythmias if necessary ... . Start IV administration of D5W /SRP: "To keep open", minimal flow rate/. Proparacaine hydrochloride should be used to assist eye irrigation ... . /Etiological Agents/

/SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS/ Batrachotoxin is a potent modulator of voltage-gated sodium channels, leading to irreversible depolarization of nerves and muscles, fibrillation, arrhythmias and eventually cardiac failure. Since its discovery, field researchers also reported numbness after their skin came into contact with this toxin.

Batrachotoxins (BTX): Streoidal alkaloids produced by certain Central and Souh American poison dart/arrow frogs (Dendrobates, Phyllobates). /from table/