OdK2, a Kv1.3 channel-selective toxin from the venom of the Iranian scorpion Odonthobuthus doriae

Toxicon. 2008 Jun 15;51(8):1424-30. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2008.03.027. Epub 2008 Mar 29.

Abstract

The first Kv1.3 channel-selective toxin from the venom of the Iranian scorpion Odonthobuthus doriae (OdK2) was purified, sequenced and characterized physiologically. OdK2 consists of 38 amino acids, including six conserved cysteine and a C-terminal lysine residue, as revealed by the unique use of a quadrupole ion cyclotron resonance Fourier-transform mass spectrometer. Based on multiple sequence alignments, OdK2 was classified as alpha-KTX3.11. The pharmacological effects of OdK2 were studied on a panel of eight different cloned K(+) channels (vertebrate Kv1.1-Kv1.6, Shaker IR and hERG) expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Interestingly, OdK2 selectively inhibits the currents through Kv1.3 channels with an IC50 value of 7.2+/-2.7nM.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Kv1.3 Potassium Channel / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oocytes / drug effects
  • Potassium Channel Blockers / chemistry
  • Potassium Channel Blockers / isolation & purification
  • Potassium Channel Blockers / pharmacology*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Scorpion Venoms / chemistry*
  • Scorpions / chemistry*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Xenopus laevis

Substances

  • Kv1.3 Potassium Channel
  • Potassium Channel Blockers
  • Scorpion Venoms