Dataset Information

Peptide Inhibitors of the ?-Cobratoxin-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction.

ABSTRACT: Venomous snakebites cause >100 000 deaths every year, in many cases via potent depression of human neuromuscular signaling by snake ?-neurotoxins. Emergency therapy still relies on antibody-based antivenom, hampered by poor access, frequent adverse reactions, and cumbersome production/purification. Combining high-throughput discovery and subsequent structure-function characterization, we present simple peptides that bind ?-cobratoxin (?-Cbtx) and prevent its inhibition of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) as a lead for the development of alternative antivenoms. Candidate peptides were identified by phage display and deep sequencing, and hits were characterized by electrophysiological recordings, leading to an 8-mer peptide that prevented ?-Cbtx inhibition of nAChRs. We also solved the peptide:?-Cbtx cocrystal structure, revealing that the peptide, although of unique primary sequence, binds to ?-Cbtx by mimicking structural features of the nAChR binding pocket. This demonstrates the potential of small peptides to neutralize lethal snake toxins in vitro, establishing a potential route to simple, synthetic, low-cost antivenoms.

SUBMITTER: Lynagh T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7705965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Peptide Inhibitors of the α-Cobratoxin-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction.

Lynagh Timothy T Kiontke Stephan S Meyhoff-Madsen Maria M Gless Bengt H BH Johannesen Jónas J Kattelmann Sabrina S Christiansen Anders A Dufva Martin M Laustsen Andreas H AH Devkota Kanchan K Olsen Christian A CA Kümmel Daniel D Pless Stephan Alexander SA Lohse Brian B

Journal of medicinal chemistry 20201103 22

Venomous snakebites cause >100 000 deaths every year, in many cases via potent depression of human neuromuscular signaling by snake α-neurotoxins. Emergency therapy still relies on antibody-based antivenom, hampered by poor access, frequent adverse reactions, and cumbersome production/purification. Combining high-throughput discovery and subsequent structure-function characterization, we present simple peptides that bind α-cobratoxin (α-Cbtx) and prevent its inhibition of nicotinic acetylcholine ...[more]

PMID: 33143415

Similar Datasets

Project description:α-Conotoxins (α-CTxs) are small disulfide-rich peptides from venom of Conus species that target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). The muscle-type nAChRs have been recognized as a potential target for several diseases, such as myogenic disorders, muscle dystrophies, and myasthenia gravis. EI, an α4/7-CTx, mainly blocks α1β1δε nAChRs and has an extra N-terminal extension of three amino acids. In this study, the alanine scanning (Ala-scan) mutagenesis was applied in order to identify key residues of EI for binding with mouse α1β1δε nAChR. The Ala-substituted analogues were tested for their abilities of modulating muscle and neuronal nAChRs in Xenopus laevis oocytes using two-electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) recordings. Electrophysiological results indicated that the vital residues for functional activity of EI were His-7, Pro-8, Met-12, and Pro-15. These changes exhibited a significant decrease in potency of EI against mouse α1β1δε nAChR. Interestingly, replacing the critical serine (Ser) at position 13 with an alanine (Ala) residue resulted in a 2-fold increase in potency at the α1β1δε nAChR, and showed loss of activity on α3β2 and α3β4 nAChRs. Selectivity and potency of [S13A] EI was improved compared with wild-type EI (WT EI). In addition, the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of EI revealed that the "Arg1-Asn2-Hyp3" residues at the N-terminus conferred potency at the muscle-type nAChRs, and the deletion analogue △1-3 EI caused a total loss of activity at the α1β1δε nAChR. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy studies demonstrated that activity loss of truncated analogue △1-3 EI for α1β1δε nAChR is attributed to disturbance of the secondary structure. In this report, an Ala-scan mutagenesis strategy is presented to identify crucial residues that are significantly affecting potency of E1 for mouse α1β1δε nAChR. It may also be important in remodeling of some novel ligands for inhibiting muscle-type nAChRs.

Dataset Information

Peptide Inhibitors of the ?-Cobratoxin-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction.

Publications

Peptide Inhibitors of the α-Cobratoxin-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure