Secondary structure of noxiustoxin and charybdotoxin from hydropathy power spectra

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 May 30;201(1):186-93. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1994.1687.

Abstract

The analysis of the hydropathy profile power spectra provides a basis for studies of pattern matching between the primary and secondary structure of peptides. The structural motif obtained with Noxiustoxin (NTX), the first K+ channel blocking peptide described, is composed of a N-terminal beta-strand, a central alpha-helix and a final beta-strand zone, probably forming a beta-sheet. These results were compared with those of Charybdotoxin (ChTX), a potent inhibitor of the high conductance Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel, which presents about 48% similarity with NTX in the amino acid sequence. Our prediction for ChTX secondary structure, which is known by 2D-NMR spectroscopy, yielded a Chou-Fasman quality index Q = 90%. The comparison between the two toxins has guided the interpretation of the data obtained.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Charybdotoxin
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Potassium Channel Blockers
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Scorpion Venoms / chemistry*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Solubility

Substances

  • Potassium Channel Blockers
  • Scorpion Venoms
  • Charybdotoxin
  • noxiustoxin