Two classes of channel-specific toxins from funnel web spider venom

1. The paralytic effects and neuromuscular actions of Agelenopsis aperta venom on insects were analyzed biochemically and electrophysiologically. 2. Paralysis caused by Agelenopsis venom is correlated with two effects on neuromuscular transmission: postsynaptic inhibition and presynaptic excitation. These effects are explained by the actions of two classes of toxins purified by RPLC, the alpha- and mu-agatoxins. 3. The alpha-agatoxins are low molecular weight, acylpolyamines which cause rapid, reversible paralysis correlated with use-dependent postsynaptic block of EPSPs and ionophoretic glutamate potentials. The mu-agatoxins are cysteine-rich polypeptides which cause irreversible paralysis and repetitive action potentials originating in presynaptic axons or nerve terminals. 4. The joint actions of the alpha- and mu-agatoxins lead to significantly higher rates of paralysis than are obtained by either toxin class alone, and this may relate to enhancement by excitatory mu-agatoxins of use-dependent block caused by alpha-agatoxins.     

Cysteine-rich toxins from Lachesana tarabaevi spider venom with amphiphilic C-terminal segments

Venom of Lachesana tarabaevi (Zodariidae, “ant spiders”) exhibits high insect toxicity and serves a rich source of potential insecticides. Five new peptide toxins active against insects were isolated from the venom by means of liquid chromatography and named latartoxins (LtTx). Complete amino acid sequences of LtTx (60-71 residues) were established by a combination of Edman degradation, mass spectrometry and selective proteolysis. Three toxins have eight cysteine residues that form four intramolecular disulfide bridges, and two other molecules contain an additional cystine; three LtTx are C-terminally amidated. Latartoxins can be allocated to two groups with members similar to CSTX and LSTX toxins from Cupiennius salei (Ctenidae) and Lycosa singoriensis (Lycosidae). The interesting feature of the new toxins is their modular organization: they contain an N-terminal cysteine-rich (knottin or ICK) region as in many neurotoxins from spider venoms and a C-terminal linear part alike some cytolytic peptides. The C-terminal fragment of one of the most abundant toxins LtTx-1a was synthesized and shown to possess membrane-binding activity. It was found to assume amphipathic α-helical conformation in membrane-mimicking environment and exert antimicrobial activity at micromolar concentrations. The tails endow latartoxins with the ability to bind and damage membranes; LtTx show cytolytic activity in fly larvae neuromuscular preparations. We suggest a membrane-dependent mode of action for latartoxins with their C-terminal linear modules acting as anchoring devices.     

Scorpion toxins from Buthus martensii Karsch all possess a predicted alpha-tight-turn

We have purified a new toxin (BmK 17[4]) from Asian scorpion (Buthus martensii Karsch) venom that possesses a distinctive structural motif in its N-terminal (positions 8-12) that is similarly found in two other previously described alpha-like toxins. BmK 17[4] prolongs action potentials (APs) in frog nerve and was purified using gel filtration, ion exchange, fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). BmK 17[4] significantly prolonged frog APs but it did not alter APs from an insect ventral nerve cord at similar doses. When applied to voltage-clamped frog muscle single fibers, BmK 17[4] prolonged fast inactivation. Because the polypeptide prolongs APs when both K+ and Ca2+ channels were blocked, BMK 17[4] acts to selectively alter Na+ channel inactivation. The N-terminal sequence of BmK 17[4] was found to be VRDAYIAKPENCVYXC --. The molar mass of BmK 17[4] was determined by LC/MS/MS to be 7097 Daltons. The N- terminal motif (KPENC), which introduces a reverse turn in residues 8-12, does not appear in previously characterized BmK alpha-toxins and may be characteristic of alpha-like toxins. Sequence similarity database searches were used to test whether the N-terminal sequences of alpha-like polypeptide toxins from B. martensii Karsch possess a distinctive structural motif in its 5-residue reverse turn (alpha-turn) that is conserved. Sequence similarities with putative polypeptides encoded by cDNAs obtained from a cDNA library [Zhu, S. Y., Li, W. X., Zenq, X. C., et al. (2000) Nine novel precursors of Buthus martensii scorpiox alpha-toxin homologues. Toxicon 38, 1653-1661] from BmK venom glands showed that an active polypeptide toxin cleaved from the putative propolypeptide toxin BmK M9 is likely identical to BmK 17[4]. Sequence comparisons with toxins and putative toxins from B. martensii Karsch and other species revealed that a group of these toxins possess a common structural motif in their alpha-turn. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis suggests that there are two phylogenetic sister groups of related BmK polypeptides; one possesses the KPENC motif and the other possesses a modifed version (KPHNC) of it.     

Isolation, synthesis and pharmacological characterization of delta-palutoxins IT, novel insecticidal toxins from the spider Paracoelotes luctuosus (Amaurobiidae).

Four novel insecticidal toxins were isolated from the venom of the spider Paracoelotes luctuosus (Araneae: Amaurobiidae) and named delta-palutoxins IT1 to IT4. The four toxins are homologous 36-37 amino acid peptides reticulated by four disulfide bridges and three have amidated C-terminal residues. The delta-palutoxins are highly homologous with the previously described mu-agatoxins and curtatoxins (77-97%). The four peptides demonstrated significant toxicity against larvae of the crop pest Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in a microinjection bioassay, with LD50 values in the 9-50 microg per g of insect range. This level of toxicity is equivalent to that of several of the most active scorpion toxins used in the development of recombinant baculoviruses, and the delta-palutoxins appear to be insect specific. Electrophysiological experiments demonstrated that delta-palutoxin IT1, the most active toxin acts by affecting insect sodium channel inactivation, resulting in the appearance of a late-maintained sodium current, in a similar fashion to insecticidal scorpion alpha and alpha-like toxins and is thus likely to bind to channel receptor site 3. However, delta-palutoxin IT1 was distinguished by its lack of effect on peak sodium conductance, on the early phase of sodium current inactivation and the absence of a shift in the activation voltage of the sodium channels. delta-Palutoxins are thus proposed as new insecticidal toxins related to the alpha and alpha-like scorpion toxins. They will be useful both in the development of recombinant baculoviruses in agrochemical applications and also as molecular probes for the investigation of molecular mechanisms of insect selectivity and structure and function of sodium channels.     

The complete amino acid sequence of the high molecular mass hemorrhagic protein HR1B isolated from the venom of Trimeresurus flavoviridis

Hemorrhage is a common occurrence in a victim bitten by crotalid and viperid snakes, and hemorrhagic components in these various venoms have been isolated and characterized. Previously, we have shown that a low molecular weight hemorrhagic protein (HR2a, 202 amino acid residues) isolated from the venom of Trimeresurus flavoviridis is a member of a new subfamily of metalloproteinases. We now report the complete amino acid sequence of a high molecular mass hemorrhagic protein isolated from the same venom. This protein, HR1B, is a mosaic protein composed of 416 residues containing four asparagine-linked oligosaccharide chains. The amino-terminal half (residues 1-203) of HR1B contains a metalloproteinase domain, the sequence of which is 62% identical to that of HR2a and 52% identical to that of hemorrhagic toxin d isolated from Crotalus atrox venom. The most interesting finding is that the middle region (residues 204-300) of HR1B shows a striking similarity to disintegrins, Arg-Gly-Asp-containing platelet aggregation inhibitors, recently found in several viper venoms. Interestingly, however, this region of HR1B does not contain the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence which is known to be a putative binding site in the disintegrins for the platelet fibrinogen receptor, the glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex. We also found that the carboxyl-terminal region (residues 213-336) of the middle part of HR1B shows 30% identity to residues 1543-1656 of von Willebrand factor and that the remaining region at the carboxyl-terminal end is unique and has a cysteine-rich sequence. These results suggest that the middle portion of HR1B, which shows structural similarities to the disintegrins and von Willebrand factor, may be important in synergistically stimulating hemorrhagic activity in the NH2-terminal metalloproteinase domain.     

Genes Expressed in a Turrid Venom Duct: Divergence and Similarity to Conotoxins

The toxoglossate mollusks are a large group of venomous animals (>10,000 species) conventionally divided into three groups, the cone snails, the auger snails, and the turrid snails; turrids account for >90% of the biodiversity of toxoglossans. Only the venoms of cone snails have been intensively investigated, with little work focused on turrids. We report the first broad characterization of genes expressed in venom ducts of any turrid species. Twenty-three different cDNA clones encoding putative toxins were characterized from the venom duct of the turrine species Lophiotoma olangoensis Olivera 2002 and belong to 16 different gene families. Of the 16 different Lophiotoma olangoensis gene families that encode putative toxins, for only 1 was there clear evidence of sequence similarity with any conotoxin gene family. The I-like gene family of Lophiotoma olangoensis was found to be related to the K channel-targeted I₂ conotoxin superfamily. Most putative Lophiotoma toxins are cysteine-rich polypeptides, with a significant fraction much larger (>80 amino acids) than the toxins from cone snails. A small number were not cysteine-rich but had hydrophobic amino acid clusters interspersed with arginine residues. This is only 1 of >10,000 different turrid venoms that needs to be characterized. From this study, a common origin with Conus for one family of putative turrid toxins is indicated. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Rafael Zardoya]     

两种虎纹捕鸟蛛昆虫毒素的分离纯化及生物学活性鉴定

结合离子交换和反相高效液相色谱从虎纹捕鸟蛛粗毒分离纯化到 2种虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 ,命名为虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅶ和虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅷ .经质谱测定这 2种毒素的分子量分别为 3981 0 2和 4 171 12 .氨基酸序列分析发现 ,这 2种虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素同源性非常高 ,只有 6个残基位点的不同 .虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅶ和虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅷ的生物学功能相似 ,都能对蝗虫起到麻痹作用 ;对小鼠的中枢神经作用高剂量能使小鼠产生致死 ,但低剂量虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅷ能使小鼠产生惊厥反应 ,而低剂量虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 Ⅶ不能使小鼠产生惊厥反应 ;这 2种毒素都能阻断小鼠离体膈神经膈肌的神经肌肉传递 ,且与虎纹捕鸟蛛毒素 I混合后都具协同作用     

Crystal structure of a CRISP family Ca2+ -channel blocker derived from snake venom

The cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) are widely distributed in mammals, reptiles, amphibians and secernenteas, and are involved in a variety of biological reactions. Here we report the crystal structure of triflin, a snake venom derived blocker of high K(+)-induced artery contraction, at 2.4A resolution. Triflin consists of two domains. The first 163 residues form a large globular body with an alpha-beta-alpha sandwich core, which resembles pathogenesis-related proteins of group-1 (PR-1). Two glutamic acid-associated histidine residues are located in an elongated cleft. A Cd(2+) resides in this binding site, and forms a five-coordination sphere. The subsequent cysteine-rich domain adopts a rod-like shape, which is stabilized by five disulfide bridges. Hydrophobic residues, which may obstruct the target ion-channel, are exposed to the solvent. A concave surface, which is surrounded by these two domains, is also expected to play a significant role in the binding to the target receptor, leading to ion channel blockage. The C-terminal cysteine-rich region has a similar tertiary structure to voltage-gated potassium channel blocker toxins, such as BgK and ShK. These findings will contribute toward understanding the functions of the widely distributed CRISP family proteins.     

Snake venom toxins. The amino acid sequence of three toxins (CM-2e, CM-4a and CM-) from Naja haje annulifera (Egyptian cobra) venom.

Three toxins (CM-2e, CM-4a and CM-7) were purified from the venom of Naja haje annulifera by gel filtration on Sephadex and by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose. They comprise 60 amino acid residues and are cross-linked by four intrachain disulphide bridges. The complete amino acid sequences of the three toxins have been elucidated. The toxicities, the serological properties, the sequences and the invariant amino acid residues of toxin CM-2e, CM-4a and CM-7 resemble the corresponding properties of the cytotoxin group.     

Studies on sea-snake venoms. Crystallization of erabutoxins a and b from Laticauda semifasciata venom

1. The toxic principles in the venom of the sea-snake Laticauda semifasciata were separated into two components by CM-cellulose chromatography and obtained in crystalline forms. They were named ;erabutoxins a and b'. 2. The homogeneity of each toxin was shown by rechromatography, by disk electrophoresis, by ultracentrifuging, by toxicity measurements before and after repeated crystallizations and by N-terminal analysis. 3. They had molecular weights of about 7000. Both of them contained 61 (or 62) amino acid residues/molecule. The only difference between erabutoxins a and b was that one of the aspartic acid (or asparagine) residues in erabutoxin a was replaced by a histidine residue in erabutoxin b. 4. Both of the toxins had LD(50) values of 0.15mug./g. body wt. for mice and 0.07mug./g. for rats. It was shown with frog-muscle preparations that they acted on postsynaptic membrane to block neuromuscular transmission.     

Unique Bell-shaped Voltage-dependent Modulation of Na+ Channel Gating by Novel Insect-selective Toxins from the Spider Agelena orientalis

Spider venoms provide a highly valuable source of peptide toxins that act on a wide diversity of membrane-bound receptors and ion channels. In this work, we report isolation, biochemical analysis, and pharmacological characterization of a novel family of spider peptide toxins, designated β/δ-agatoxins. These toxins consist of 36–38 amino acid residues and originate from the venom of the agelenid funnel-web spider Agelena orientalis. The presented toxins show considerable amino acid sequence similarity to other known toxins such as μ-agatoxins, curtatoxins, and δ-palutoxins-IT from the related spiders Agelenopsis aperta, Hololena curta, and Paracoelotes luctuosus. β/δ-Agatoxins modulate the insect Na_V channel (DmNa_V1/tipE) in a unique manner, with both the activation and inactivation processes being affected. The voltage dependence of activation is shifted toward more hyperpolarized potentials (analogous to site 4 toxins) and a non-inactivating persistent Na⁺ current is induced (site 3-like action). Interestingly, both effects take place in a voltage-dependent manner, producing a bell-shaped curve between −80 and 0 mV, and they are absent in mammalian Na_V channels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report of peptide toxins with such a peculiar pharmacological behavior, clearly indicating that traditional classification of toxins according to their binding sites may not be as exclusive as previously assumed.     

Purification and characterization of the cytotoxic Cerebratulus A toxins

Mucus secreted from the skin of a marine worm, Cerebratulus lacteus, contains a family of polypeptide cytotoxins (A toxins) in addition to the previously reported polypeptide neurotoxins (B toxins). The A toxins were purified by Sephadex G-50 chromatography and then CM-cellulose gradient chromatography at pH 7.5 and pH 3.5. The three most abundant A toxins (designated according to their order of CM-cellulose elution) were homogeneous by gel electrophoreses, amino acid composition, and by NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal partial sequence analyses. Each of the three A toxins consists of a single basic polypeptide chain of 93 to 99 residues, cross-linked by three or four disulfide bonds, lacking reducing sugar and cysteinyl residues. The three A toxins rapidly lysed human red cells and Ehrlich ascites tumor cells at 1 to 10 microgram/ml concentrations. On a molar basis toxin A-III is about 4 times more active than melittin (bee venom lysin) and over 10 times more active than cardiotoxin (elapid snake lysin) upon human red cells. Purified A toxins lacked phospholipase A activity. The cytoxins as well as the neurotoxins were concentrated within the body wall integument.     

Purification and partial characterization of K+ channel blockers from the venom of Dendroaspis angusticeps.

Two polypeptides (designated DTX-A and DTX-B) were purified from crude snake venom of Dendroaspis angusticeps using gel filtration, cation exchange colum chromatography and cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography, and their blocking actions of K⁺ channels were investigated in rat brain synaptosomes. Both DTX-A and DTX-B inhibited the voltage-dependent ⁴²K efflux from the synaptosomes. DTX-A blocked ⁴²K efflux of both the rapidly inactivating phase (component T) and the slowly inactivating phase (component S). The inhibitory effect of DTX-A on component T was pronounced compared with that on component S. However, DTX-B selectively blocked ⁴²K efflux of component S. The molecular weights of DTX-A and DTX-B were estimated to be ca 10,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of these toxins is different from that of polypeptide purified from the venom of D. angusticeps (-, β, γ- and δ-DTX). These results suggest that DTX-A and DTX-B are new polypeptides which block voltage-dependent K⁺ channels selectively, and that they are useful tools for investigating the K⁺ channel.     

Functional duality and structural uniqueness of depressant insect-selective neurotoxins

Depressant insect-selective neurotoxins derived from scorpion venoms (a) induce in blowfly larvae a short, transient phase of contraction similar to that induced by excitatory neurotoxins followed by a prolonged flaccid paralysis and (b) displace excitatory toxins from their binding sites on insect neuronal membranes. The present study was undertaken in order to examine the basis of these similarities by comparing the primary structures and neuromuscular effects of depressant and excitatory toxins. A new depressant toxin (LqhIT2) was purified from the venom of the Israeli yellow scorpion. The effects of this toxin on a prepupal housefly neuromuscular preparation mimic the effects on the intact animal; i.e., a brief period of repetitive bursts of junction potentials is followed by suppression of their amplitude and finally by a block of neuromuscular transmission. Loose patch clamp recordings indicate that the repetitive activity has a presynaptic origin in the motor nerve and closely resembles the effect of the excitatory toxin AaIT. The final synaptic block is attributed to neuronal membrane depolarization, which results in an increase in spontaneous transmitter release; this effect is not induced by excitatory toxin. The amino acid sequences of three depressant toxins were determined by automatic Edman degradation. The depressant toxins comprise a well-defined family of polypeptides with a high degree of sequence conservation. This group differs considerably in primary structure from the excitatory toxin, with which it shares identical or related binding sites, and from the two groups of scorpion toxins that affect sodium conductance in mammals. The two opposing pharmacological effects of depressant toxins are discussed in light of the above data.     

Molecular cloning, genomic organization and functional characterization of a new short-chain potassium channel toxin-like peptide BmTxKS4 from Buthus martensii Karsch(BmK)

Scorpion venom contains many small polypeptide toxins, which can modulate Na(+), K(+), Cl(-), and Ca(2+) ion-channel conductance in the cell membrane. A full-length cDNA sequence encoding a novel type of K(+)-channel toxin (named BmTxKS4) was first isolated and identified from a venom gland cDNA library of Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK). The encoded precursor contains 78 amino acid residues including a putative signal peptide of 21 residues, propeptide of 11 residues, and a mature peptide of 43 residues with three disulfide bridges. BmTxKS4 shares the identical organization of disulfide bridges with all the other short-chain K(+)-channel scorpion toxins. By PCR amplification of the genomic region encoding BmTxKS4, it was shown that BmTxKS4 composed of two exons is disrupted by an intron of 87 bp inserted between the first and the second codes of Phe (F) in the encoding signal peptide region, which is completely identical with that of the characterized scorpion K(+)-channel ligands in the size, position, consensus junctions, putative branch point, and A+T content. The GST-BmTxKS4 fusion protein was successfully expressed in BL21 (DE3) and purified with affinity chromatography. About 2.5 mg purified recombinant BmTxKS4 (rBmTxKS4) protein was obtained by treating GST-BmTxKS4 with enterokinase and sephadex chromatography from 1 L bacterial culture. The electrophysiological activity of 1.0 microM rBmTxKS4 was measured and compared by whole cell patch-clamp technique. The results indicated that rBmTxKS4 reversibly inhibited the transient outward K(+) current (I(to)), delayed inward rectifier K(+) current (I(k1)), and prolonged the action potential duration of ventricular myocyte, but it has no effect on the action potential amplitude. Taken together, BmTxKS4 is a novel subfamily member of short-strain K(+)-channel scorpion toxin.     

Fasciculins, anticholinesterase toxins from the venom of the green mamba Dendroaspis angusticeps

Two toxins that are potent inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase have been isolated from the venom of the green mamba, Dendroaspis angusticeps. The toxins have been called fasciculins since after injection into mice (i.p. 0.5-3 micrograms/g body weight) they cause severe, generalized and long-lasting (5-7 h) fasciculations. Homogenates of diaphragm, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles from mice injected with fasciculins showed a decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity by 45-60% compared to muscles from control animals. Histochemical staining revealed a greatly reduced acetylcholinesterase activity at neuromuscular junctions. Fasciculins have 61 amino acid residues and four disulfides. The molecular weights are 6765 (fasciculin 1) and 6735 (fasciculin 2). The sequences of the two toxins differ probably only at one position by a replacement of Tyr with Asp/Asn. 1 g of venom contained about 40 mg of fasciculins, 2/3 of which was fasciculin 2. A similar inhibitor has also been isolated from D. polylepis (black mamba) venom. The sequence of fasciculin 2 is known. Most of the positive charges are concentrated in a small section of the central part of the molecule, and most of the negative charges are in the C-terminal region. Fasciculins appear to have a pronounced dipole character. Fasciculin binds to the peripheral anionic site, since it can displace propidium, a probe for that site, from acetylcholinesterase. In vitro, in Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 2 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 7.4), fasciculin 2 inhibits acetylcholinesterase from human erythrocytes (Ki = 1.1 X 10(-10) M, 37 degrees C), rat muscle (Ki = 1.2 X 10(-10) M, 37 degrees C) and Electrophorus electricus (Ki = 3.0 X 10(-10) M, 22 degrees C).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Structural analysis and comparison of cobrotoxin and cardiotoxins by near-IR Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy.

Venom toxins were isolated from Formosan cobra (Naja naja atra) by cation-exchange chromatography. The near-IR FT-Raman analytical method has been applied to the characterization and classification of the toxin components in their lyophilized forms. Structural analysis and comparison of various purified toxin fractions were made with respect to their amino acid compositions and near-IR Fourier-transform Raman spectra. The results indicate that the major secondary structure of cobra toxins including cobrotoxin and various cardiotoxins is mainly anti-parallel beta-pleated sheet as judged by the Raman signals at 1238 cm-1 (amide III) and 1671 cm-1 (amide I). It is also found that the relative Raman signal intensities of Tyr, Phe, Trp and Met residues in purified toxins correlate very well with the structural data obtained from amino acid analysis. The advantage and improvement of applying the near-IR FT-Raman spectroscopy to the unambiguous classification and comparison of venom toxins are evident and the discrepancies with previous Raman studies on these venom toxins are also revealed and discussed.     

Muscarinic toxin-like proteins from cobra venom.

Three new polypeptides were isolated from the venom of the Thailand cobra Naja kaouthia and their amino-acid sequences determined. They consist of 65-amino-acid residues and have four disulfide bridges. A comparison of the amino-acid sequences of the new polypeptides with those of snake toxins shows that two of them (MTLP-1 and MTLP-2) share a high degree of similarity (55-74% sequence identity) with muscarinic toxins from the mamba. The third polypeptide (MTLP-3) is similar to muscarinic toxins with respect to the position of cysteine residues and the size of the disulfide-confined loops, but shows less similarity to these toxins (30-34% sequence identity). It is almost identical with a neurotoxin-like protein from Bungarus multicinctus (TrEMBL accession number Q9W727), the sequence of which has been deduced from cloned cDNA only. The binding affinities of the isolated muscarinic toxin-like proteins towards the different muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes (m1-m5) was determined in competition experiments with N-[3H]methylscopolamine using membrane preparations from CHO-K1 cells, which express these receptors. We found that MTLP-1 competed weakly with radioactive ligand for binding to all mAChR subtypes. The most pronounced effect was observed for the m3 subtype; here an IC50 value of about 3 microM was determined. MTLP-2 had no effect on ligand binding to any of the mAChR subtypes at concentrations up to 1 microM. MTLP-1 showed no inhibitory effect on alpha-cobratoxin binding to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica at concentrations up to 20 microM.     

Characterization of two different peptides from the venom of the scorpion Buthus sindicus

Two disulfide-rich, low-molecular mass peptides (approximately 3 kDa and approximately 4 kDa) have been isolated from Buthus sindicus venom using ion-exchange and reverse-phase HPLC. Peptide I has 35 residues with 8 half-cystine residues and is clearly related to four-disulfide core proteins of the neurophysin type and to toxins of other scorpion species (55-63% residue identity). Peptide II, present in low yield, has 28 residues with 6 half-cystine residues and a structure largely dissimilar from that of peptide I and other characterized toxins, although probably still a member of the disulfide core peptide type. Consequently, scorpion venom contains, in addition to toxins characterized before, toxin-like compounds with distant relationships.     

Scorpion toxins from Buthus martensii Karsch all possess a predicted α-tight-turn

We have purified a new toxin (BmK 17[4]) from Asian scorption (Buthus martensii Karsch) venom that possesses a distinctive structural motif in its N-terminal (positions 8–12) that is similarly found in two other previously described α-like toxins. BmK 17[4] prolongs action potentials (APs) in frog nerve and was purified using gel filtration, ion exchange, fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). BmK 17[4] significantly prolonged frog APs but it did not alter APs from an insect ventral nerve cord at similar doses. When applied to voltage-clamped frog muscle single fibers, BmK 17[4] prolonged fast inactivation. Because the polypeptide prolongs APs when both K⁺ and Ca²⁺ channels were blocked, BMK 17[4] acts to selectively alter Na⁺ channel inactivation. The N-terminal sequence of BmK 17[4] was found to be VRDAYIAKPENCVYXC—. The molar mass of BmK 17[4] was determined by LC/MS/MS to be 7097 Daltons. The N-terminal motif (KPENC), which introduces a reverse turn in residues 8–12, does not appear in previously characterized BmK α-toxins and may be characteristic of α-like toxins. Sequence similarity database searches were used to test whether the N-terminal sequences of α-like polypeptide toxins from B. martensii Karsch possess a distinctive structural motif in its 5-residue reverse turn (α-turn) that is conserved. Sequence similarities with putative polypetides encoded by cDNAs obtained from a cDNA library [Zhu, S. Y., Li, W. X., Zenq, X. C., et al. (2000) Nine novel precursors of Buthus martensii scorpiox alpha-toxin homologues. Toxicon 38, 1653–1661] from BmK venom glands showed that an active polypeptide toxin cleaved from the putative propolypeptide toxin BmK M9 is likely identical to BmK 17[4]. Sequence comparisons with toxins and putative toxins from B. martensii Karsch and other species revealed that a group of these toxins possess a common structural motif in their α-turn. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis suggests that there are two phylogenetic sister groups of related BmK polypeptides; one possesses the KPENC motif and the other possesses a modifed version (KPHNC) of it.