Characterisation of Elevenin-Vc1 from the Venom of <i>Conus victoriae</i>: A Structural Analogue of α-Conotoxins

oleh: Bankala Krishnarjuna, Punnepalli Sunanda, Jeffrey Seow, Han-Shen Tae, Samuel D. Robinson, Alessia Belgi, Andrea J. Robinson, Helena Safavi-Hemami, David J. Adams, Raymond S. Norton

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-01-01

Deskripsi

Elevenins are peptides found in a range of organisms, including arthropods, annelids, nematodes, and molluscs. They consist of 17 to 19 amino acid residues with a single conserved disulfide bond. The subject of this study, elevenin-Vc1, was first identified in the venom of the cone snail <i>Conus victoriae</i> (<i>Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. </i><b>2017</b>, <i>244</i>, 11–18). Although numerous elevenin sequences have been reported, their physiological function is unclear, and no structural information is available. Upon intracranial injection in mice, elevenin-Vc1 induced hyperactivity at doses of 5 or 10 nmol. The structure of elevenin-Vc1, determined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, consists of a short helix and a bend region stabilised by the single disulfide bond. The elevenin-Vc1 structural fold is similar to that of α-conotoxins such as α-RgIA and α-ImI, which are also found in the venoms of cone snails and are antagonists at specific subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). In an attempt to mimic the functional motif, Asp-Pro-Arg, of α-RgIA and α-ImI, we synthesised an analogue, designated elevenin-Vc1-DPR. However, neither elevenin-Vc1 nor the analogue was active at six different human nAChR subtypes (α1β1εδ, α3β2, α3β4, α4β2, α7, and α9α10) at 1 µM concentrations.