Snake venom α‐neurotoxins and other ‘three‐finger’ proteins

The review is mainly devoted to snake venom α‐neurotoxins which target different muscle‐type and neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The primary and spatial structures of other snake venom proteins as well as mammalian proteins of the Ly‐6 family, which structurally resemble the ‘three‐finger’ snake proteins, are also briefly discussed. The main emphasis is placed on recent data characterizing the α‐neurotoxin interactions with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.