[NMR paper] Structural difference between group I and group II cobra cardiotoxins: X-ray, NMR, an

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Structural difference between group I and group II cobra cardiotoxins: X-ray, NMR, and CD analysis of the effect of cis-proline conformation on three-fingered toxins.

Related Articles Structural difference between group I and group II cobra cardiotoxins: X-ray, NMR, and CD analysis of the effect of cis-proline conformation on three-fingered toxins.

Biochemistry. 2005 May 24;44(20):7414-26

Authors: Chen TS, Chung FY, Tjong SC, Goh KS, Huang WN, Chien KY, Wu PL, Lin HC, Chen CJ, Wu WG

Natural homologues of cobra cardiotoxins (CTXs) were classified into two structural subclasses of group I and II based on the amino acid sequence and circular dichroism analysis, but the exact differences in their three-dimensional structures and biological significance remain elusive. We show by circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopic, and X-ray crystallographic analyses of a newly purified group I CTX A6 from eastern Taiwan cobra (Naja atra) venoms that its loop I conformation adopts a type VIa turn with a cis peptide bond located between two proline residues of PPxY. A similar "banana-twisted" conformation can be observed in other group I CTXs and also in cyclolinopeptide A and its analogues. By binding to the membrane environment, group I CTX undergoes a conformational change to adopt a more extended hydrophobic domain with beta-sheet twisting closer to the one adopted by group II CTX. This result resolves a discrepancy in the CTX structural difference reported previously between solution as well as crystal state and shows that, in addition to the hydrophobicity, the exact loop I conformation also plays an important role in CTX-membrane interaction. Potential protein targets of group I CTXs after cell internalization are also discussed on the basis of the determined loop I conformation.

PMID: 15895985 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]



Source: PubMed