Download MendeleyFunctional significance of the beta hairpin in the insecticidal neurotoxin omega-atracotoxin-Hv1a.
Tedford, H.W., Fletcher, J.I., King, G.F.(2001) J Biol Chem 276: 26568-26576
- PubMed: 11313356
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M102199200
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
1HVW - PubMed Abstract:
omega-Atracotoxin-Hv1a is an insect-specific neurotoxin whose phylogenetic specificity derives from its ability to antagonize insect, but not vertebrate, voltage-gated calcium channels. In order to help understand its mechanism of action and to enhance its utility as a lead compound for insecticide development, we used a combination of protein engineering and site-directed mutagenesis to probe the toxin for key functional regions. First, we constructed a Hairpinless mutant in which the C-terminal beta-hairpin, which is highly conserved in this family of neurotoxins, was excised without affecting the fold of the residual disulfide-rich core of the toxin. The Hairpinless mutant was devoid of insecticidal activity, indicating the functional importance of the hairpin. We subsequently developed a highly efficient system for production of recombinant toxin and then probed the hairpin for key functional residues using alanine-scanning mutagenesis followed by a second round of mutagenesis based on initial "hits" from the alanine scan. This revealed that two spatially proximal residues, Asn(27) and Arg(35), form a contiguous molecular surface that is essential for toxin activity. We propose that this surface of the beta-hairpin is a key site for interaction of the toxin with insect calcium channels.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06032, USA.
