title: Three-dimensional structure of natural charybdotoxin in aqueous solution by 1H-NMR. Charybdotoxin possesses a structural motif found in other scorpion toxins.
abstract: A 600-MHz proton NMR study of natural charybdotoxin, a toxin acting on K+ channels, is reported. The unambiguous sequential assignment of all the protons of the toxin was achieved. The analysis of NOEs and of backbone coupling constants showed the existence of an alpha-helix (residues 10-19) and of an antiparallel beta-sheet in the 26-35 part. Three-dimensional structures were generated by distance geometry, using a set of 114 interresidual calibrated constraints (63 sequential, 47 medium and long range, 4 hydrogen bonds) and 29 phi angles. These structures show that charybdotoxin is composed of a beta-sheet linked to an alpha-helix by two disulphide bridges and to an extended fragment by the third disulphide bridge. Comparison with the other known structures of long and short scorpion toxins shows that this structural motif is common to all these proteins.
authors.affiliation: Service de Biochimie des Protéines, CEN-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bontems
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roumestand
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boyot
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gilquin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Doljansky
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Toma
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018999:Charybdotoxin; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012604:Scorpion Venoms; D018999:Charybdotoxin