Revised amino acid sequences of the three major phospholipases A2 from Bungarus fasciatus (banded krait) venom

Isolation and characterization of a presynaptic neurotoxin, P-elapitoxin-Bf1a from Malaysian Bungarus fasciatus venom

Presynaptic neurotoxins are one of the major components in Bungarus venom. Unlike other Bungarus species that have been studied, β-bungarotoxin has never been isolated from Bungarus fasciatus venom. It was hypothesized that the absence of β-bungarotoxin in this species was due to divergence during evolution prior to evolution of β-bungarotoxin. In this study, we have isolated a β-bungarotoxin isoform we named P-elapitoxin-Bf1a by using gel filtration, cation-exchange and reverse-phase chromatography from Malaysian B. fasciatus venom. The toxin consists of two heterogeneous subunits, subunit A and subunit B. LCMS/MS data showed that subunit A was homologous to acidic phospholipase A2 subunit A3 from Bungarus candidus and B. multicinctus venoms, whereas subunit B was homologous with subunit B1 from B. fasciatus venom that was previously detected by cDNA cloning. The toxin showed concentration- and time-dependent reduction of indirect-twitches without affecting contractile responses to ACh, CCh or KCl at the end of experiment in the chick biventer preparation. Toxin modification with 4-BPB inhibited the neurotoxic effect suggesting the importance of His-48. Tissue pre-incubation with monovalent B. fasciatus (BFAV) or neuro-polyvalent antivenom (NPV), at the recommended titer, was unable to inhibit the twitch reduction induced by the toxin. This study indicates that Malaysian B. fasciatus venom has a unique β-bungarotoxin isoform which was not neutralized by antivenoms. This suggests that there might be other presynaptic neurotoxins present in the venom and there is a variation in the enzymatic neurotoxin composition in venoms from different localities.

Sequences, geographic variations and molecular phylogeny of venom phospholipases and threefinger toxins of eastern India Bungarus fasciatus and kinetic analyses of its Pro31 phospholipases A2

Eight phospholipases A2 (PLAs) and four three-finger-toxins (3FTx) from the pooled venom of Bungarus fasciatus (Bf) were previously studied and sequenced, but their expression pattern in individual Bf venom and possible geographic variations remained to be investigated. We herein analyze the individual venom of two Bf specimens from Kolkata (designated as KBf) to address this question. Seven PLAs and five 3FTx were purified from the KBf venoms, and respective cDNAs were cloned from venom glands of one of the snakes. Comparison of their mass and N-terminal sequence revealed that all the PLAs were conserved in both KBf venoms, but that two of their 3FTx isoforms were variable. When comparing the sequences of these KBf-PLAs with those published, only one was found to be identical to that of Bf Vb-2, and the other five were 94-98% identical to those of Bf II, III, Va, VI and XI-2, respectively. Notably, the most abundant PLA isoforms of Bf and KBf venoms contain Pro31 substitution. They were found to have abnormally low k(cat) values but high affinity for Ca2+. Phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of venom group IA PLAs showed a close relationship between Bungarus and Australian and marine Elapidae. As the five deduced sequences of KBf-3FTx are only 62-82% identical to the corresponding Bf-3FTx from the pooled venom, the 3FTx apparently have higher degree of individual and geographic variations than the PLAs. None of the KBf-3FTx was found to be neurotoxic or very lethal; phylogenetic analyses of the 3FTx also revealed the unique evolution of Bf as compared with other kraits.

Structure of a cardiotoxic phospholipase A(2) from Ophiophagus hannah with the "pancreatic loop"

The crystal structure of an acidic phospholipase A(2) from Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra) has been determined by molecular replacement at 2.6-A resolution to a crystallographic R factor of 20.5% (R(free)=23.3%) with reasonable stereochemistry. The venom enzyme contains an unusual "pancreatic loop." The conformation of the loop is well defined and different from those in pancreas PLA(2), showing its structural variability. This analysis provides the first structure of a PLA(2)-type cardiotoxin. The sites related to the cardiotoxic and myotoxic activities are explored and the oligomer observed in the crystalline state is described.

Cloning and recombinant expression of a structurally novel human secreted phospholipase A2

Mammals contain a diverse set of secreted phospholipases A(2) (sPLA(2)s) that liberate arachidonic acid from phospholipids for the production of eicosanoids and exert a variety of physiological and pathological effects. We report the cloning, recombinant expression, and kinetic properties of a novel human sPLA(2) that defines a new structural class of sPLA(2)s called group XII. The human group XII (hGXII) cDNA contains a putative signal peptide of 22 residues followed by a mature protein of 167 amino acids that displays homology to all known sPLA(2)s only over a short stretch of amino acids in the active site region. Northern blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses show that the tissue distribution of hGXII is distinct from the other human sPLA(2)s with strong expression in heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, and pancreas and weaker expression in brain, liver, small intestine, lung, placenta, ovaries, testis, and prostate. Catalytically active hGXII was produced in Escherichia coli and shown to be Ca(2+)-dependent despite the fact that it is predicted to have an unusual Ca(2+)-binding loop. Similar to the previously characterized mouse group IIE sPLA(2)s, the specific activity of hGXII is low in comparison to that of other mammalian sPLA(2), suggesting that hGXII could have novel functions that are independent of its phospholipase A(2) activity.

Complete amino acid sequence of an acidic, cardiotoxic phospholipase A2 from the venom of Ophiophagus hannah (King Cobra): a novel cobra venom enzyme with "pancreatic loop"

A phospholipase A2 (OHV A-PLA2) from the venom of Ophiophagus hannah (King cobra) is an acidic protein exhibiting cardiotoxicity, myotoxicity, and antiplatelet activity. The complete amino acid sequence of OHV A-PLA2 has been determined using a combination of Edman degradation and mass spectrometric techniques. OHV A-PLA2 is composed of a single chain of 124 amino acid residues with 14 cysteines and a calculated molecular weight of 13719 Da. It contains the loop of residues (62-66) found in pancreatic PLA2s and hence belongs to class IB enzymes. This pancreatic loop is between two proline residues (Pro 59 and Pro 68) and contains several hydrophilic amino acids (Ser and Asp). This region has high degree of conformational flexibility and is on the surface of the molecule, and hence it may be a potential protein-protein interaction site. A relatively low sequence homology is found between OHV A-PLA2 and other known cardiotoxic PLA2s, and hence a contiguous segment could not be identified as a site responsible for the cardiotoxic activity.

Roles of lysine-69 in dimerization and activity of Trimeresurus flavoviridis venom aspartate-49-phospholipase A2

Trimeresurus flavoviridis (Habu snake) venom aspartate-49-phospholipase A2 (Asp-49-PLA2) was reacted at pH 9.0 with a 2-fold molar excess of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonate in the absence of Ca2+ and two trinitrophenylated derivatives were isolated by HPLC. One was a derivative modified at Lys-11 and its activity was mostly retained. The other was a derivative modified at both Lys-11 and Lys-72 and its activity was 40% that of unmodified enzyme. Trinitrophenylation of Lys-72 appeared to bring about a conformational disorder at the lipid-water interface recognition site and thus a reduction of activity. When the enzyme was modified in the presence of Ca2+, activity decreased at a rate much faster than that in the absence of Ca2+ and Lys-69 came to be modified. These results suggested that conformational displacement of Asp-49-PLA2 of a local to global type occurs upon the binding of Ca2+. The derivative modified at Lys-69 had 28% activity and existed as a monomer. This supports a previous assumption that Lys-69 participates in dimerization of group II Asp-49-PLA2s [Brunie et al. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 9742-9749] and shows that dimerization is not necessarily essential for activity manifestation.

Interactions of N-terminal fragments of groups I and II phospholipases A2 with phospholipid bilayers and their surface recognition properties

In order to elucidate the roles of the N-terminal segments of groups I and II phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) which have been known to have alpha-helical structure and have been assumed to be involved in the water/lipid interface recognition site, the peptides corresponding to the N-terminal moieties of group I PLA2 (Naja naja atra) and group II PLA2s (Trimeresurus flavoviridis and Crotalus atrox) were synthesized and their interactions with model membranes were studied. Circular dichroism spectra showed that N-terminal peptides of both groups I and II PLA2s took alpha-helical structure in trifluoroethanol but no significant secondary structure in buffer (pH 8.0). In the presence of acidic liposomes, N-terminal fragments of group II PLA2s formed alpha-helical structure, while that of group I PLA2 remained unaffected. The hydrophobic moments showed that amphipathicities of N-terminal fragments of group II PLA2s are evidently larger than those of N-terminal fragments of group I PLA2s. The leakage of carboxyfluorescein from acidic liposomes was induced only with group II PLA2 peptides. Large blue shift and increase in intensity of tryptophan fluorescence were also observed for group II PLA2 peptides when interacting with acidic liposomes. Such difference in the modes of interactions with lipid bilayers between N-terminal peptides of groups I and II PLA2s appears to be due in large part to the difference in intrinsic alpha-helix forming properties of their amino acid sequences. It is inferred that N-terminal amphipathic alpha-helical structures of group I PLA2s are possibly formed by assistance of a neighboring chain bridged by Cys-11 and Cys-77.