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Vásquez-Escobar J, Benjumea-Gutiérrez DM, Lopera C, Clement HC, Bolaños DI, Higuita-Castro JL, Corzo GA, Corrales-Garcia LL. Heterologous Expression of an Insecticidal Peptide Obtained from the Transcriptome of the Colombian Spider Phoneutria depilate. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:436. [PMID: 37505705 PMCID: PMC10467102 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15070436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Spider venoms are composed, among other substances, of peptide toxins whose selectivity for certain physiological targets has made them powerful tools for applications such as bioinsecticides, analgesics, antiarrhythmics, antibacterials, antifungals and antimalarials, among others. Bioinsecticides are an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional agrochemicals. In this paper, the primary structure of an insecticidal peptide was obtained from the venom gland transcriptome of the ctenid spider Phoneutria depilata (Transcript ID PhdNtxNav24). The peptide contains 53 amino acids, including 10 Cys residues that form 5 disulfide bonds. Using the amino acid sequence of such peptide, a synthetic gene was constructed de novo by overlapping PCRs and cloned into an expression vector. A recombinant peptide, named delta-ctenitoxin (rCtx-4), was obtained. It was expressed, folded, purified and validated using mass spectrometry (7994.61 Da). The insecticidal activity of rCtx-4 was demonstrated through intrathoracic injection in crickets (LD50 1.2 μg/g insect) and it was not toxic to mice. rCtx-4 is a potential bioinsecticide that could have a broad spectrum of applications in agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta Vásquez-Escobar
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin 1226, Colombia; (D.M.B.-G.); (C.L.)
| | - Dora María Benjumea-Gutiérrez
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin 1226, Colombia; (D.M.B.-G.); (C.L.)
| | - Carolina Lopera
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin 1226, Colombia; (D.M.B.-G.); (C.L.)
| | - Herlinda C. Clement
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Mexico; (H.C.C.); (D.I.B.); (G.A.C.)
| | - Damaris I. Bolaños
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Mexico; (H.C.C.); (D.I.B.); (G.A.C.)
| | - Jorge Luis Higuita-Castro
- PECET—Programa para el Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia;
| | - Gerardo A. Corzo
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Mexico; (H.C.C.); (D.I.B.); (G.A.C.)
| | - Ligia Luz Corrales-Garcia
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Mexico; (H.C.C.); (D.I.B.); (G.A.C.)
- PECET—Programa para el Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia;
- Departamento de Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 1226, Colombia
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Borrego J, Naseem MU, Sehgal ANA, Panda LR, Shakeel K, Gaspar A, Nagy C, Varga Z, Panyi G. Recombinant Expression in Pichia pastoris System of Three Potent Kv1.3 Channel Blockers: Vm24, Anuroctoxin, and Ts6. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8111215. [PMID: 36422036 PMCID: PMC9697831 DOI: 10.3390/jof8111215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Kv1.3 channel has become a therapeutic target for the treatment of various diseases. Several Kv1.3 channel blockers have been characterized from scorpion venom; however, extensive studies require amounts of toxin that cannot be readily obtained directly from venoms. The Pichia pastoris expression system provides a cost-effective approach to overcoming the limitations of chemical synthesis and E. coli recombinant expression. In this work, we developed an efficient system for the production of three potent Kv1.3 channel blockers from different scorpion venoms: Vm24, AnTx, and Ts6. Using the Pichia system, these toxins could be obtained in sufficient quantities (Vm24 1.6 mg/L, AnTx 46 mg/L, and Ts6 7.5 mg/L) to characterize their biological activity. A comparison was made between the activity of tagged and untagged recombinant peptides. Tagged Vm24 and untagged AnTx are nearly equivalent to native toxins in blocking Kv1.3 (Kd = 4.4 pM and Kd = 0.72 nM, respectively), whereas untagged Ts6 exhibits a 53-fold increase in Kd (Kd = 29.1 nM) as compared to the native peptide. The approach described here provides a method that can be optimized for toxin production to develop more selective and effective Kv1.3 blockers with therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Muhammad Umair Naseem
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Al Nasar Ahmed Sehgal
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Lipsa Rani Panda
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Kashmala Shakeel
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Attila Gaspar
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Cynthia Nagy
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltan Varga
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +36-52-258-603
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Borrego J, Feher A, Jost N, Panyi G, Varga Z, Papp F. Peptide Inhibitors of Kv1.5: An Option for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:1303. [PMID: 34959701 PMCID: PMC8704205 DOI: 10.3390/ph14121303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The human voltage gated potassium channel Kv1.5 that conducts the IKur current is a key determinant of the atrial action potential. Its mutations have been linked to hereditary forms of atrial fibrillation (AF), and the channel is an attractive target for the management of AF. The development of IKur blockers to treat AF resulted in small molecule Kv1.5 inhibitors. The selectivity of the blocker for the target channel plays an important role in the potential therapeutic application of the drug candidate: the higher the selectivity, the lower the risk of side effects. In this respect, small molecule inhibitors of Kv1.5 are compromised due to their limited selectivity. A wide range of peptide toxins from venomous animals are targeting ion channels, including mammalian channels. These peptides usually have a much larger interacting surface with the ion channel compared to small molecule inhibitors and thus, generally confer higher selectivity to the peptide blockers. We found two peptides in the literature, which inhibited IKur: Ts6 and Osu1. Their affinity and selectivity for Kv1.5 can be improved by rational drug design in which their amino acid sequences could be modified in a targeted way guided by in silico docking experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Borrego
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (J.B.); (A.F.); (G.P.); (Z.V.)
| | - Adam Feher
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (J.B.); (A.F.); (G.P.); (Z.V.)
| | - Norbert Jost
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, 6725 Szeged, Hungary;
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Interdisciplinary Excellence Centre, University of Szeged, 6725 Szeged, Hungary
- ELKH-SZTE Research Group for Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, 6725 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (J.B.); (A.F.); (G.P.); (Z.V.)
| | - Zoltan Varga
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (J.B.); (A.F.); (G.P.); (Z.V.)
| | - Ferenc Papp
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem ter 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (J.B.); (A.F.); (G.P.); (Z.V.)
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Alvarado D, Cardoso-Arenas S, Corrales-García LL, Clement H, Arenas I, Montero-Dominguez PA, Olamendi-Portugal T, Zamudio F, Csoti A, Borrego J, Panyi G, Papp F, Corzo G. A Novel Insecticidal Spider Peptide that Affects the Mammalian Voltage-Gated Ion Channel hKv1.5. Front Pharmacol 2021; 11:563858. [PMID: 33597864 PMCID: PMC7883638 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.563858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider venoms include various peptide toxins that modify the ion currents, mainly of excitable insect cells. Consequently, scientific research on spider venoms has revealed a broad range of peptide toxins with different pharmacological properties, even for mammal species. In this work, thirty animal venoms were screened against hKv1.5, a potential target for atrial fibrillation therapy. The whole venom of the spider Oculicosa supermirabilis, which is also insecticidal to house crickets, caused voltage-gated potassium ion channel modulation in hKv1.5. Therefore, a peptide from the spider O. supermirabilis venom, named Osu1, was identified through HPLC reverse-phase fractionation. Osu1 displayed similar biological properties as the whole venom; so, the primary sequence of Osu1 was elucidated by both of N-terminal degradation and endoproteolytic cleavage. Based on its primary structure, a gene that codifies for Osu1 was constructed de novo from protein to DNA by reverse translation. A recombinant Osu1 was expressed using a pQE30 vector inside the E. coli SHuffle expression system. recombinant Osu1 had voltage-gated potassium ion channel modulation of human hKv1.5, and it was also as insecticidal as the native toxin. Due to its novel primary structure, and hypothesized disulfide pairing motif, Osu1 may represent a new family of spider toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Alvarado
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Samuel Cardoso-Arenas
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Ligia-Luz Corrales-García
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
- Departamento de Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Herlinda Clement
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Iván Arenas
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Pavel Andrei Montero-Dominguez
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Timoteo Olamendi-Portugal
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Fernando Zamudio
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Agota Csoti
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Jesús Borrego
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Ferenc Papp
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gerardo Corzo
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, México
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