Sequence diversity of T-superfamily conotoxins from Conus marmoreus.

Remarkable sequence diversity of T-superfamily conotoxins was found in a mollusk-hunting cone snail Conus marmoreus. The sequence of mr5a purified from the snail venom was determined, while six other sequences of Mr5.1a, Mr5.1b, Mr5.2, Mr5.3, Mr5.4a, and Mr5.4b were deduced from their corresponding cDNA cloned by RACE approach. mr5a of 10 amino acid residues is one of the shortest T-superfamily conotoxins ever found. They all share a typical (-CC-CC-) Cys pattern, a conserved signal peptide and a long 3'-untranslated region. A consensus Glu residue is preceded by the second two adjacent cysteines in all these toxins except in mr5a, whereas Mr5.1a, Mr5.1b, Mr5.4a and Mr5.4b are abundant in Trp residues. The identification of these highly divergent T-superfamily conotoxins will facilitate the understanding the relationship of their structure and function.     

Novel O-superfamily conotoxins identified by cDNA cloning from three vermivorous Conus species

The O-superfamily of conotoxins includes several subfamilies with different pharmacological targets, all of which are voltage-gated ion channels and distributed widely in varied Conus species. The venom components from any Conus species are quite distinct from those of other species. Seven novel O-superfamily peptides were identified by cDNA cloning from the three vermivorous Conus species of C. betulinus, C. lividus and C. caracteristicus native to Hainan. They share three common signal sequences, and a conserved arrangement of cysteine residues (C-C-CC-C-C). Phylogenetic analysis of newly found conotoxins in this study and known homologue O-superfamily sequences from the other Conus species was performed systematically. Divergence and percentage identity of the amino acid sequences of the signal regions suggest that the novel conotoxins described in this investigation belong to the three broad clades: MSGL, ME-QK and MKLT, each of which has its own characteristic signature signal sequence and cysteine codon conservation. Relative to this work, it is noted that O-superfamily conotoxins are not well represented from vermivorous species. The elucidated cDNAs of these newly found vermivorous toxins would facilitate a better understanding for basic research and drug discovery.     

中国南海织锦芋螺毒素的分离及鉴定

目的从中国南海织锦芋螺中分离新的芋螺毒素,为药物发现、药物设计提供新的活性多肽或前体多肽,比较不同地域织锦芋螺毒素的构成,研究环境对织锦芋螺毒素分泌的影响。方法织锦芋螺毒液经预处理后,凝胶层析分离粗毒,用HPLC进一步分离,氨基酸测序。结果分离得到了10余个织锦芋螺毒素组分,确定了10个织锦芋螺毒素的氨基酸序列,其中4个为新型织锦芋螺毒素,6个与已报道的相同。结论中国南海织锦芋螺毒液中含有丰富的M族芋螺毒素,毒素成分与菲律宾宿务岛(Cebu)、马尼拉岛的织锦芋螺相似。     

Two novel O-superfamily conotoxins from Conus vexillum.

O-superfamily conotoxins include several families that have diverse pharmacological activity on Na+, K+ or Ca2+ channels. These superfamily toxins have been mainly found in fish-hunting and mollusk-hunting Conus species. Here, we reported two novel O-superfamily conotoxins, vx6a and vx6b, purified from a worm-hunting cone snail, Conus vexillum. Though their cysteine framework and signal peptides share high similarity with those of other members of O-superfamily, the mature vx6a and vx6b both have a low sequence homology with others. To test the biological function of vx6a, the toxin was chemically synthesized and then tested on the locust dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neuron system which containing various ion channels. Although no any activity on ion channels was found on the DUM neuron system, vx6a could clearly elicit a series of symptoms in mouse via intracranial injection, such as quivering, climbing, scratching, barrel rolling and paralysis of limbs at different dose.     

A sleep-inducing peptide from Conus geographus venom

A novel peptide toxin, which causes a sleep-like state upon intracerebral injection in mice, has been purified to homogeneity from the venom of the piscivorous marine snail Conus geographus L. It elicits no obvious effects when injected i.p. into either mice or fish. The purified toxin is a highly acidic heptadecapeptide with no cystine residues (Lys1, Arg1, Asx2, Ser1, Glx7-8, Gly1, Ile1, Leu2). This composition is in marked contrast to those of other conotoxins, which are basic and disulphide-bridged. The N-terminal residue is Gly and the COOH-terminal sequence is Ser-Asn-NH2.     

靶向烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体的芋螺毒素研究进展

芋螺毒素是由海洋肉食性芋螺所分泌的用于捕杀猎物的高活性生物多肽类毒素,据估计,全世界范围内约含100,000种不同的芋螺毒素,按照保守的信号区可分为A、B2、C、D、O、M、T等27个超家族。不同家族的芋螺毒素能够特异性的靶向各种离子通道和受体,因而成为了具有潜在药用价值的先导化合物和研究神经药理学的分子探针。当前报道的靶向烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体的芋螺毒素来自十个超家族,分别为A、B3、C、D、J、L、S、O1、M和T。本文对这十个超家族中靶向烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体的芋螺毒素的序列、结构及功能进行简要综述。     

cDNA cloning of two A-superfamily conotoxins from Conus striatus.

The full-length cDNAs of two A-superfamily conotoxins, kappaA-SIVA and alpha-SII, were respectively cloned and sequenced from Conus striatus using 3' RACE and 5' RACE. The cDNA of kappaA-SIVA encodes a precursor of 68 residues, including a signal peptide of 21 residues, a pro-peptide of 17 residues, and a mature peptide of 30 residues with an additional residue Gly which is prerequisite for the amidation of the preceding C-terminal Cys. The cDNA-deduced sequence of alpha-SII is composed of a signal peptide of 21 residues, a pro-peptide of 29 residues, a mature peptide of 19 residues and three additional residues Arg-Thr-Ile at the C-terminus. This tripeptide might be cleaved off by proteolytic processing. Although these two conotoxins belong to different families and target voltage-gated potassium channel and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, respectively, they share the same signal sequence, and both are processed at the common signal site -X-Arg- immediately before the mature peptide sequences. The length of 3' untranslational region of alpha-conotoxin SII was extraordinarily large about 10 times longer than that of kappaA-SIVA with 770 and 75 bp, respectively. The elucidated cDNAs of these two toxins will facilitate a better understanding of the process of their post-translational modifications.     

Conus Venoms: A Rich Source of Neuroactive Peptides

Abstract

Purification of toxins from the venoms of two fish-hunting gastropod cone snails, Conus geographus and Conus magus has revealed the presence of three classes of paralytic peptide toxins. These are: 1) the w-conotoxins, which block voltage activated calcium channels at the presynaptic terminus; 2) the α-conotoxins, which block the acetylcholine receptor and 3) the ω-conotoxins, which inhibit muscle sodium channels, and therefore prevent propagation of the muscle action potential. These toxins are basic peptides from 13–27 amino acids long, rich in cystine residues which are present as disulfides. A number of α-conotoxins and one a-conotoxin have been chemically synthesized.

In addition to the paralytic conotoxins, the venoms of Conus have other toxins which have not yet been completely characterized. A large number of neuroactive peptides and proteins have also been found. Since there are approximately 300 species of Conus, all of which produce venoms, the cone snails promise to be a rich source of neuroactive peptides in the years ahead.     

海南产大尉芋螺的新型O-超家族芋螺毒素基因克

目的从海南产大尉芋螺毒液中分离克隆新型O-超家族芋螺毒素基因,为大尉芋螺毒素药物的研究与开发提供源头化合物。方法采用快速扩增cDNA 3’-末端（3’-RACE,Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends）的方法,对我国海南产大尉芋螺（Conus capitaneus Linnaeus）的毒素cDNA进行分析,克隆测序所得基因片段,再进行序列比较,以及O-超家族芋螺毒素基因的遗传变异分析。结果发现了1种新的O-超家族芋螺毒素cDNA序列CaHr91N,编码长度为77个氨基酸（aa）的前体蛋白CaHr91P,具有典型的芋螺毒素前体结构特征,即由21aa的信号肽、22aa的前肽与34aa的成熟肽三部分组成。毒素区的成熟肽CaHr91M序列为ECREQSQGCTNTsPPccsGLRCSGQSQGGVCISN,具有O-超家族芋螺毒素保守的半胱氨酸框架C-C-CC-C-C．同时比较分析了CaHr91P与其它同源性的O-超家族芋螺毒素的相似性,以及大尉芋螺毒素的研究状况。结论CaHr91P新芋螺毒素基因的发现,及其序列的阐明,为进一步研究其生物活性和应用奠定了基础,同时为更多大尉芋螺毒素的发现和研究利用积累了经验。     

Two different groups of signal sequence in M-superfamily conotoxins

M-superfamily conotoxins can be divided into four branches (M-1, M-2, M-3 and M-4) according to the number of amino acid residues in the third Cys loop. In general, it is widely accepted that the conotoxin signal peptides of each superfamily are strictly conserved. Recently, we cloned six cDNAs of novel M-superfamily conotoxins from Conus leopardus, Conus marmoreus and Conus quercinus, belonging to either M-1 or M-3 branch. These conotoxins, judging from the putative peptide sequences deducted from cDNAs, are rich in acidic residues and share highly conserved signal and pro-peptide region. However, they are quite different from the reported conotoxins of M-2 and M-4 branches even in their signal peptides, which in general are considered highly conserved for each superfamily of conotoxins. The signal sequences of M-1 and M-3 conotoxins composed of 24 residues start with MLKMGVVL-, while those of M-2 and M-4 conotoxins composed of 25 residues start with MMSKLGVL-. It is another example that different types of signal peptides can exist within a superfamily besides the I-conotoxin superfamily. In addition to the different disulfide connectivity of M-1 conotoxins from that of M-4 or M-2 conotoxins, the sequence alignment, preferential Cys codon usage and phylogenetic tree analysis suggest that M-1 and M-3 conotoxins have much closer relationship, being different from the conotoxins of other two branches (M-4 and M-2) of M-superfamily.     

Studies on conotoxins of Conus betulinus

The biological activity and toxicity of crude venom from Conus betulinus, which was collected from the South China Sea, were studied. The venom shows Ach receptor activity, K+ current effect, and low toxicity. Four peptide components, named BeTXIa, BeTXIb, BeTXIIa, and BeTXIIb, were purified by gel-filtration with Sephadex followed by HPLC, and finally sequenced on an ABI model 491 sequencer. The low-molecular-weight peptides BeTXIa and b have 14 and 15 amino acid residues, respectively, while BeTXIIa and b have 27 and 30 amino acid residues, respectively. The results indicate that BeTXs from the venom of C. betulinus are a set of small peptides with a high cysteine content like known conotoxins. However, it is meaningful to find that these sequences have specific chemical characteristics in their cysteine framework which differ greatly from known cysteine frameworks in conotoxin structures.     

Conus venoms - a rich source of peptide-based therapeutics

Over two decades of research on venom peptides derived from cone snails ("conopeptides or conotoxins") has led to several compounds that have reached human clinical trials, most of them for the treatment of pain. Remarkably, none of the conopeptides in clinical development mediate analgesia through the opioid receptors, underlying the diverse and novel neuropharmacology evolved by Conus snails. These predatory animals produce an estimated approximately 100,000 distinct conotoxins, a vast majority yet to be discovered and characterized. The conopeptides studied to-date in animal models, have exhibited antinociceptive, antiepileptic, neuroprotective or cardioprotective activities. Screening results also suggest applications of conotoxins in cancer, neuromuscular and psychiatric disorders. Additional potentially important applications of conotoxin research are the discovery and validation of new therapeutic targets, also defining novel binding sites on already validated molecular targets. As the structural and functional diversity of conotoxins is being investigated, the Conus venoms continue to surprise with the plethora of neuropharmacological compounds and potential new therapeutics. This review summarizes recent efforts in the discovery of conopeptides, and their preclinical and clinical development.     

Contryphans from Conus textile venom ducts.

Contryphans are unusual Conus peptides which contain a distinctive post-translational modification, D-tryptophan or D-leucine. cDNA clones encoding new contryphans from the mollusc-hunting cone snail Conus textile were identified and the inferred mature peptides were synthesized: contryphan-Tx (Gly-Cys-Hyp-D-Trp-Gln-Pro-Tyr-Cys-NH(2)), Leu-contryphan-Tx (Cys-Val-D-Leu-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Cys-NH(2)) and contryphan R/Tx which is identical to contryphan-R [Jimenez et al., 1996. Contryphan is a D-tryptophan containing Conus peptide. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 28002-28005]. Leu-contryphan-Tx exhibits a single peak, but contryphan-Tx shows two peaks under reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography conditions. Ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy demonstrates a difference in the D-tryptophan dihedral angle for the two contryphan-Tx equilibrium conformers. Both the sequences and in vivo effects of all contryphans isolated suggest that there are two major branches of the contryphan family.     

Novel conopeptides of the I-superfamily occur in several clades of cone snails.

The I-superfamily of conotoxins represents a new class of peptides in the venom of some Conus species. These toxins are characterized by four disulfide bridges and inhibit or modify ion channels of nerve cells. When testing venoms from 11 Conus species for a functional characterization, blocking activity on potassium channels (like Kv1.1 and Kv1.3 channels, but not Kv1.2 channels) was detected in the venom of Conus capitaneus, Conus miles, Conus vexillum and Conus virgo. Analysis at the cDNA level of these venoms using primers designed according to the amino acid sequence of a potassium channel blocking toxin (ViTx) from C. virgo confirmed the presence of structurally homologous peptides in these venoms. Moreover, peptides belonging to the I-superfamily, but with divergent amino acid sequences, were found in Conus striatus and Conus imperialis. In all cases, the sequences of the precursors' prepro-regions exhibited high conservation, whereas the sequences of the mature peptides ranged from almost identical to highly divergent between species. We then performed phylogenetic analyses of new and published mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences representing 104 haplotypes from these and numerous other Conus species, using Bayesian, maximum-likelihood, maximum-parsimony and neighbor-joining methods of inference. Cone snails known to possess I-superfamily toxins were assigned to five different major clades in all of the resulting gene trees. Moreover, I-superfamily conopeptides were detected both in vermivorous and piscivorous species of Conus, thus demonstrating the widespread presence of such toxins in this speciose genus beyond evolutionary and ecological groups.     

Drugs from the sea: conopeptides as potential therapeutics

Marine cone snails from the genus Conus are estimated to consist of up to 700 species. These predatory molluscs have devised an efficient venom apparatus that allows them to successfully capture polychaete worms, other molluscs or in some cases fish as their primary food sources. The toxic venom used by the cone shells contains up to 50 different peptides that selectively inhibit the function of ion channels involved in the transmission of nerve signals in animals. Each of the 700 Conus species contains a unique set of peptides in their venom. Across the genus Conus, the conotoxins represent an extensive array of ion channel blockers each showing a high degree of selectivity for particular types of channels. We have undertaken a study of the conotoxins from Australian species of Conus that have the capacity to inhibit specifically the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in higher animals. These conotoxins have been identified by mass spectroscopy and their peptide sequences in some cases deduced by the application of modern molecular biology to the RNA extracted from venom ducts. The molecular biological approach has proven more powerful than earlier protein/peptide based technique tor the detection of novel conotoxins [1,2]. Novel conotoxins detected in this way have been further screened for their abilities to modify the responses of tissues to pain stimuli as a first step in describing their potential as lead compounds for novel drugs. This review describes the progress made by several research groups to characterise the properties of conopeptides and to use them as drug leads for the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of a range of neurological conditions.     

Conotoxins - new vistas for peptide therapeutics

There are approximately 500 species of predatory cone snails within the genus Conus. They comprise what is arguably the largest single genus of marine animals alive today. It has been estimated that the venom of each Conus species has between 50 and 200 components. These highly constrained sulfur rich components or conotoxins represent a unique arsenal of neuropharmacologically active peptides that have been evolutionarily tailored to afford unprecedented and exquisite selectivity for a wide variety of ion-channel subtypes. Remarkable divergence occurs when cone snails speciate. Consequently, the complement of venom peptides in any one Conus species is distinct from that of any other species. Hence many thousands of peptides that modulate ion channel function are present within Conus venoms. Evolutionary pressures have afforded a "pre-optimized," structurally sophisticated library that has been "fine tuned" over 50 million years. The statistics associated with sampling such libraries bear testimony to the validity and feasibility of this strategy. Although approximately 100 conotoxin sequences have been published in the scientific literature, representing a mere 0.2 % of the estimated library size, this sample has already afforded a peptide of proven clinical utility and several pre-clinical leads for CNS disorders. Conus libraries represent a rich pharmacopoeia and the potential to "therapeutically mine" such a resource appears limitless. The paucity of synthetic methodologies necessary to achieve the regioisomeric folding patterns present in these native peptides precludes access to synthetic conotoxin libraries, further validating the overall "mining" strategy. In this article, we will present a pragmatic overview of the molecular diversity as well as the neurobiological mechanisms that define each major class of conotoxin.     

芋螺毒素研究进展

芋螺毒素是含约１０－３０个氨基酸残基的小肽，大多富含二硫键，可分为α－，μ，ω－，δ－，芋螺睡眠肽，加压素，惊厥剂等。已确定四十余个毒素的序列，对４个有代表性的芋螺肽进行了溶液构象分析和构效关系的研究。本文介绍了芋螺毒素研究历史。综述了国外对甚至芋螺毒素的构效关系研究的结果及应用研究情况。     

Identification of a novel S-superfamily conotoxin from vermivorous Conus caracteristicus

Conotoxins have been classified into several different superfamilies based on the highly conserved signal peptide sequences of their precursors. However, little is known about the five disulfide bonds containing S-superfamily conotoxins. Only two S-superfamily conotoxins have been identified but their cDNAs are not reported. In this work, we identified a novel S-superfamily conotoxin ca8a from vermivorous Conus caracteristicus. Its sequence shares no homology with those of two other previously reported toxins of the same superfamily, but they have the same cysteine framework, in particular the CX(3)CXC-CXC-CXCXC pattern at the C-terminal part. This implies that these toxins might have the same spatial scaffold, but different local conformation or residue side chains may be the cause of their different biological functions. Furthermore, the cDNA of ca8a was cloned with the RACE method. ca8a has a signal peptide sequence different from those of other conotoxins. This gives a defining feature of S-superfamily conotoxins and led to the cloning of more S-superfamily conotoxins from cone snails of different prey types, which indicates that S-superfamily conotoxins widely exist. These results will certainly enrich our understanding of the highly diversified S-superfamily conotoxins.