Transforming conotoxins into cyclotides: Backbone cyclization of P-superfamily conotoxins.

Peptide backbone cyclization is a widely used approach to improve the activity and stability of small peptides but until recently it had not been applied to peptides with multiple disulfide bonds. Conotoxins are disulfide-rich conopeptides derived from the venoms of cone snails that have applications in drug design and development. However, because of their peptidic nature, they can suffer from poor bioavailability and poor stability in vivo. In this study two P-superfamily conotoxins, gm9a and bru9a, were backbone cyclized by joining the N- and C-termini with short peptide linkers using intramolecular native chemical ligation chemistry. The cyclized derivatives had conformations similar to the native peptides showing that backbone cyclization can be applied to three disulfide-bonded peptides with cystine knot motifs. Cyclic gm9a was more potent at high voltage-activated (HVA) calcium channels than its acyclic counterpart, highlighting the value of this approach in developing active and stable conotoxins containing cyclic cystine knot motifs.

Characterization of a novel peptide toxin from Acanthoscurria paulensis spider venom: a distinct cysteine assignment to the HWTX-II family.

Spider venom toxins have raised interest in prospecting new drugs and pesticides. Nevertheless, few studies are conducted with tarantula toxins, especially with species found in Brazil. This study aims to characterize chemically and biologically the first toxin isolated from Acanthoscurria paulensis venom. Ap1a consists of 48 amino acid residues and has a molecular mass of 5457.79 Da. The cloned gene encodes a putative sequence of 23 amino acid residues for the signal peptide and 27 for the pro-peptide. The sequence of the mature peptide is 60-84% identical with those of toxins of the HWTX-II family. Different from the structural pattern proposed for these toxins, the disulfide pairing of Ap1a is of the ICK type motif, which is also shared by the U1-TRTX-Bs1a toxin. Ap1a induced a dose-dependent and reversible paralytic effect in Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillars, with an ED50 of 13.0 ± 4.2 µg/g 8 h after injections. In the Drosophila melanogaster Giant Fiber circuit, Ap1a (1.14-22.82 µg/g) reduces both the amplitude and frequency of responses from GF-TTM and GF-DLM pathways, suggesting an action at the neuromuscular junction, which is mediated by glutamatergic receptors. It is also lethal to mice (1.67 µg/g, intracranial route), inducing effects similar to those reported with intracerebroventricular administration of NMDA. Ap1a (1 µM) does not alter the response induced by acetylcholine on the rhabdomyosarcoma cell preparation and shows no significant effects on hNav1.2, hNav1.4, hNav1.5, and hNav1.6 channels. Because of its unique sequence and cysteine assignment to the HWTX-II family, Ap1a is a significant contribution to the structure-function study of this family of toxins.