title: Three-finger snake neurotoxins and Ly6 proteins targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: pharmacological tools and endogenous modulators.
abstract: Snake venom neurotoxins and lymphocyte antigen 6 (Ly6) proteins, most of the latter being membrane tethered by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, have a variety of biological activities, but their three-finger (3F) folding combines them in one Ly6/neurotoxin family. Subsets of two groups, represented by α-neurotoxins and Lynx1, respectively, interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) and, hence, are of therapeutic interest for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, pain, and cancer. Information on the mechanisms of action and 3D structure of the binding sites, which is required for drug design, is available from the 3D structure of α-neurotoxin complexes with nAChR models. Here, I compare the structural and functional features of α-neurotoxins versus Lynx1 and its homologs to get a clearer picture of Lynx1-nAChR interactions that is necessary for fundamental science and practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Miklukho-Maklaya Str. 16/10, Moscow 117997, Russian Federation. Electronic address: vits@mx.ibch.ru.
authors.forename: Victor I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Tsetlin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012910:Snake Venoms
chemical_list: D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D009498:Neurotoxins; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D012910:Snake Venoms
keywords: Lynx1; neurotoxins; nicotinic acetylcholine receptors