Postsynaptic blocking of glutamatergic and cholinergic synapses as a common property of Araneidae spider venoms.

Venom effects of eight Araneidae spider species were studied using locust and frog neuromuscular junctions. The spider venoms irreversibly blocked miniature excitatory postsynaptic potentials and excitatory postsynaptic potentials of locust neuromuscular junction. The frog miniature end-plate potentials and end-plate potentials were also blocked, but they recovered upon washing of the preparation with physiological solution.