Description

Tetraodotoxin is a kind of extremely potent toxin which exists in the liver and sex organs of some fishes including pufferfish, porcupine fish, ocean sunfish, and toadfish as well as some kind of amphibian, octopus and shellfish species. It is also produced by some bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Vibrio. Tetraodotoxin is extremely toxic to human, interfering with the transmission of signals of nerves to muscles and further causing paralysis of the body muscle. It can be fatal in some cases. Its mechanism of action is inhibiting the firing of action potentials in nerves through binding to the voltage-gated sodium channels in nerve cell membrane and blocking the passages of sodium ions into the nerve cell. People should wear proper protective equipment upon operations and should be subject to proper treatment upon suffering from it. However, it has been under investigation on the treatment of chronic and breakthrough pain in advanced cancer patients.