1. The Penetration Depth for Hanatoxin Partitioning into the Membrane Hydrocarbon Core Measured with Neutron Reflectivity
- Author
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Yu-Shuan Shiau, Pei-Ming Chen, Horng-Huei Liou, Po-Tsang Huang, Kuo-Long Lou, Michael James, Ming-Tao Lee, Meng-Hsuan Hsieh, Po-Huang Liang, Isaac Furay Yu, Tsang-Lang Lin, and Stephen A. Holt
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Membrane potential ,Materials science ,Bilayer ,Surfaces and Interfaces ,Gating ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Core (optical fiber) ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,030104 developmental biology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Membrane ,chemistry ,Electrochemistry ,Biophysics ,General Materials Science ,Hanatoxin ,Penetration depth ,POPC ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Spectroscopy - Abstract
Hanatoxin (HaTx) from spider venom works as an inhibitor of Kv2.1 channels, most likely by interacting with the voltage sensor (VS). However, the way in which this water-soluble peptide modifies the gating remains poorly understood as the VS is deeply embedded within the bilayer, although it would change its position depending on the membrane potential. To determine whether HaTx can indeed bind to the VS, the depth at which HaTx penetrates into the POPC membranes was measured with neutron reflectivity. Our results successfully demonstrate that HaTx penetrates into the membrane hydrocarbon core (∼9 Å from the membrane surface), not lying on the membrane-water interface as reported for another voltage sensor toxin (VSTx). This difference in penetration depth suggests that the two toxins fix the voltage sensors at different positions with respect to the membrane normal, thereby explaining their different inhibitory effects on the channels. In particular, results from MD simulations constrained by our penetration data clearly demonstrate an appropriate orientation for HaTx to interact with the membranes, which is in line with the biochemical information derived from stopped-flow analysis through delineation of the toxin-VS binding interface.
- Published
- 2018
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