What is "alpha-neurotoxin"

α-Neurotoxins are a group of neurotoxic snake peptides that come from the venom of snakes in the families Elapidae and Hydrophidae that cause paralysis, respiratory failure, and death. They are antagonists of postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the neuromuscular synapse that bind competitively and irreversibly, preventing synaptic acetylcholine (ACh) from opening the ion channel. Over 100 α-neurotoxins have been identified and sequenced.