ABSTRACT
The α-conotoxins are peptide toxins that are identified from the venom of marine cone snails and they hold outstanding potency on various subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). nAChRs have an important role in regulating transmitter release, cell excitability, and neuronal integration, so nAChR dysfunctions have been involved in a variety of severe pathologies. Four types of α-3/5 conotoxins MI, MIA, MIB and MIC have been found from Conus magus. Among them, the activity and selectivity of MIA and MIB have not been well studied. In this study, four α-3/5 conotoxins MI, MIA, MIB and MIC were synthesized by solid peptide synthesis method, and the bioactivities of them were screened by double electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology. The results showed that MIA and MIB selectively inhibited muscle type acetylcholine receptors with IC50 values of 14.45 and 72.78 nmol·L-1, respectively, which are slightly weaker than MI and MIC. Molecular docking results have shown MIA and MIB interact with muscle-type nAChRs with similar mechanism. The reasons for activity differences may relate to the size of the N-terminal amino acids. Together, the conotoxins MIA and MIB may have the potential to develop as a tool for detect the function of muscle type nAChRs, as well as the diagnosis or treat of related diseases.
ABSTRACT
italic>α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and is closely related to a variety of neurological diseases and inflammation response. α-Conotoxin [A10L]PnIA, as an antagonist targeting α7 nAChR, plays an important role in studying the physiological and pathological processes involved in α7 nAChR. [A10L]PnIA was labeled with fluorescein 5-carboxytetramethylrhodamine, and the active peptide ([A10L]PnIA-F) was obtained by a two-step oxidative folding procedure in vitro. The Xenopus oocyte expression system and the two-electrode voltage clamp technique were used to identify the potency of [A10L]PnIA-F fluorescent peptide, and its cytotoxicity was detected by mouse macrophages and CCK8 method. The molecular weight of [A10L]PnIA-F fluorescent peptide was identified by mass spectrometry as 2 077.28 Da, which was consistent with the theoretical value. Electrophysiological determination of its half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for α7 nAChR is 17.32 nmol·L-1, which is consistent with [A10L]PnIA (IC50, 13.84 nmol·L-1). The cytotoxicity test results showed that within the concentration range of 5 nmol·L-1 to 10 μmol·L-1, there was no significant inhibition on the growth of mouse macrophages. The results showed that the α-conotoxin fluorescent probe [A10L]PnIA could provide pharmacological tools for the research of α7 nAChR-related neurophysiological and pathological mechanisms.
ABSTRACT
The cyanuric chloride linkers have been used for cyclizing polypeptide, but not used for α-conotoxin, the peptides with rich disulfide bonds and more amino acid residues. In this study, cyclic peptides c[A10L]PnIA-1-4 were synthesized efficiently by lysine assisted cyanuric chloride linkers with 28.92%-52.00% yields. The activity evaluation showed that the IC50 values of c[A10L]PnIA-1 against α7 and α3β2 nAChR subtypes were 5 and 7 times higher than [A10L]PnIA respectively, and the subtype selectivity was maintained. The results of circular dichroism show that this cyclization method had no significant effect on its secondary structure. Compared with the commonly used head-to-tail cyclization in conotoxin cyclization, this method has the advantages of rapid reaction and high yield, which is expected to be further applied to the cyclization study of various α-conotoxins.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate antagonistic activities of three isomers of α-conotoxin TxIB on rat and human α6 /α3β2β3 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). METHODS: Three disulfide bond isomers were synthesized using Fmoc chemistry, which were identified by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)and confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Rat and human α6/α3β2β3 nAChRs were expressed in oocytes of Xenopus laevis, which were used to test the antagonistic abilities of the 3 isomers. RESULTS: The three isomers of α-conotoxin TxIB were synthesized successfully. The retention time of each isomer of α-conotoxin TxIB was different each other significantly. The observed molecular masses of three isomers were the same, which were consistent with their theoretical molecular mass. Their hydrophilicity orders were globular > ribbon > bead. Both rat and human α6/α3β2β3 nAChRs were expressed in oocytes well. Inhibition of three isomers of α-conotoxin TxIB on rat and human α6 /α3β2β3 nAChRs were evaluated respectively. Among the three isomers of TxIB, the activity of the globular isomer was the most potent one, which had almost same activity at rat and human α6/α3β2β3 nAChRs with corresponding IC50 of 28.2 and 32.0 nmol·L-1 respectively. However, the other two isomers, ribbon and bead isomers displayed little antagonistic effect on both rat and human α6/α3β2β3 nAChRs only with an IC50 of > 10 μmol·L-1. CONCLUSION: The synthesized globular isomer of α-conotoxin TxIB in this work has a high selectivity and potent antagonistic activity on rat and human α6/α3β2β3 nAChRs, which would be helpful for its new drug development.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To interrogate differential sensitivity of α-conotoxin TxID on stoichiometry of α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors(nAChRs). METHODS: Oocytes of Xenopus laevis were used to express rat α3β4 nAChRs with different stoichiometries by altering α3:β4 RNA injection ratios of 1:1, 1:10 or 10:1. Sensitivity of α-conotoxin TxID on these different stoichiometry receptors were evaluated and compared. RESULTS: The three stoichiometry receptors of α3β4 nAChRs were expressed in oocytes successfully. α-Conotoxin TxID showed differential sensitivity on α3β4 nAChR stoichiometries. Inhibition of 1:10 injection ratio by TxID was similar with regular 1:1 α3β4 nAChRs within 2-fold difference. While potency of 10:1 injection ratio by TxID decreased 5-fold significantly comparing with 1:1 α3β4 nAChRs. CONCLUSION: α-Conotoxin TxID exhibits distinct sensitivity on different stoichiometry of α3β4 nAChRs, which could reflecting different stoichiometries of α and β subunits. The RESULTS would be helpful for elucidation of structure and physiology function of α3β4 nAChRs.