title: Molecular determinants by which a long chain toxin from snake venom interacts with the neuronal alpha 7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.
abstract: Long chain curarimimetic toxins from snake venom bind with high affinities to both muscular type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) (K(d) in the pm range) and neuronal alpha 7-AChRs (K(d) in the nm range). To understand the molecular basis of this dual function, we submitted alpha-cobratoxin (alpha-Cbtx), a typical long chain curarimimetic toxin, to an extensive mutational analysis. By exploring 36 toxin mutants, we found that Trp-25, Asp-27, Phe-29, Arg-33, Arg-36, and Phe-65 are involved in binding to both neuronal and Torpedo (Antil, S., Servent, D., and Ménez, A. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 34851-34858) AChRs and that some of them (Trp-25, Asp-27, and Arg-33) have similar binding energy contributions for the two receptors. In contrast, Ala-28, Lys-35, and Cys-26-Cys-30 selectively bind to the alpha 7-AChR, whereas Lys-23 and Lys-49 bind solely to the Torpedo AChR. Therefore, alpha-Cbtx binds to two AChR subtypes using both common and specific residues. Double mutant cycle analyses suggested that Arg-33 in alpha-Cbtx is close to Tyr-187 and Pro-193 in the alpha 7 receptor. Since Arg-33 of another curarimimetic toxin is close to the homologous alpha Tyr-190 of the muscular receptor (Ackermann, E. J., Ang, E. T. H., Kanter, J. R., Tsigelny, I., and Taylor, P. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 10958-10964), toxin binding probably occurs in homologous regions of neuronal and muscular AChRs. However, no coupling was seen between alpha-Cbtx Arg-33 and alpha 7 receptor Trp-54, Leu-118, and Asp-163, in contrast to what was observed in a homologous situation involving another toxin and a muscular receptor (Osaka, H., Malany, S., Molles, B. E., Sine, S. M., and Taylor, P. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 5478-5484). Therefore, although occurring in homologous regions, the detailed modes of toxin binding to alpha 7 and muscular receptors are likely to be different. These data offer a molecular basis for the design of toxins with predetermined specificities for various members of the AChR family.
authors.affiliation: Département d'Ingénierie et d'Etudes des Protéines, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antil-Delbeke
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamiya
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Corringer
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Changeux
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Servent
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ménez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D003039:Cobra Neurotoxin Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014101:Torpedo
chemical_list: D003039:Cobra Neurotoxin Proteins; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D012910:Snake Venoms; C025154:alpha-cobratoxin