Selective binding of the scorpion venom insect toxin to insect nervous tissue

Insect toxin (IT), a highly lethal and paralytic protein purified from scorpion venom, has been used in binding experiments with different tissue preparations of Locusta migratoria. A clear, specific binding of a high affinity was obtained only between the radio-iodinated toxin and the nervous tissue extracts. Assays with a similar nervous tissue preparation derived from a crustacean (crayfish) resulted in a low and non-specific binding of the toxin. The present data support the notion of a selective action of IT on insect nervous tissue and may indicate a certain structural uniqueness in this system.