A novel toxin from the venom of the scorpion Tityus trivittatus, is the first member of a new α-KTX subfamily
- Abdel-Mottaleb, Yousra
- Coronas, Fredy V.
- de Roodt, Adolfo R.
- Possani, Lourival D.
- Tytgat, Jan
Publication date
January 2006
DOI Publisher
Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. ISSN
0014-5793 Citation count (estimate)
25Abstract
AbstractThe first example of a new sub-family of toxins (α-KTx20.1) from the scorpion Tityus trivittatus was purified, sequenced and characterized physiologically. It has 29 amino acid residues, three disulfide bridges assumed to adopt the cysteine-stabilized α/β scaffold with a pI value of 8.98. The sequence identities with all the other known α-KTx are less than 40%. Its effects were verified using seven different cloned K+ channels (vertebrate Kv1.1–1.5, Shaker IR and hERG) expressed in Xenopus leavis oocytes. The toxin-induced effects show large differences among the different K+ channels and a preference towards Kv1.3 (EC50=7.9±1.4nM)
Add to ORKG