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Sticholysin I (StnI) is an actinoporin produced by the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus that binds biological and model membranes forming oligomeric pores. Both a surface cluster of aromatic rings and the N-terminal region are involved in pore formation. To characterize the membrane binding by StnI, we have studied by 1H-NMR the environment of these regions in water and in the presence of membrane-mimicking micelles. Unlike other peptides from homologous actinoporins, the synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 1-30 tends to form helix in water and is more helical in either trifluoroethanol or dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. In these environments, it forms a helix-turn-helix motif with the last α-helical segment matching the native helix-α1 (residues 14-24) present in the complete protein. The first helix (residues 4-9) is less populated and is not present in the water-soluble protein structure. The characterization of wild-type StnI structure in micelles shows that the helix-α1 is maintained in its native structure and that this micellar environment does not provoke its detachment from the protein core. Finally, the study of the aromatic resonances has shown that the motional flexibility of specific rings is perturbed in the presence of micelles. On these bases, the implication of the aromatic rings of Trp-111, Tyr-112, Trp-115, Tyr-132, Tyr-136, and Tyr-137, in the interaction between StnI and the micelle is discussed. Based on all the findings, a revised model for StnI interaction with membranes is proposed, which accounts for differences in its behavior as compared with other highly homologous sticholysins. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have been made to characterize the molecular properties and activity of Sticholysin II (StnII), a 175 amino acid protein secreted by the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. In particular, the biochemical characterization of different mutants of this protein have been shown to be essential for the rational understanding of its activity. Here we report the nearly complete NMR 15N, 13C and 1H chemical shift assignments, at pH 4.0 and 25°C, of a less hemolytic and defective lipid binding mutant of StnII, the R29Q variant (BMRB no 16362). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sticholysin I is an actinoporin, a pore forming toxin, of 176 aminoacids produced by the sea anemone Stichodactyla heliantus. Isotopically labelled 13C/15N recombinant protein was produced in E. coli. Here we report the complete NMR 15N, 13C and 1H chemical shifts assignments of Stn I at pH 4.0 and 25°C (BMRB No. 15927). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]