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Spider venoms are rich sources of peptidic ion channel modulators with important therapeutical potential. We screened a panel of 60 spider venoms to find modulators of ion channels involved in pain transmission. We isolated, synthesized and pharmacologically characterized Cd1a, a novel peptide from the venom of the spider Ceratogyrus darlingi. Cd1a reversibly paralysed sheep blowflies (PD50 of 1318 pmol/g) and inhibited human Cav2.2 (IC50 2.6 μM) but not Cav1.3 or Cav3.1 (IC50 > 30 μM) in fluorimetric assays. In patch-clamp electrophysiological assays Cd1a inhibited rat Cav2.2 with similar potency (IC50 3 μM) without influencing the voltage dependence of Cav2.2 activation gating, suggesting that Cd1a doesn’t act on Cav2.2 as a classical gating modifier toxin. The Cd1a binding site on Cav2.2 did not overlap with that of the pore blocker ω-conotoxin GVIA, but its activity at Cav2.2-mutant indicated that Cd1a shares some molecular determinants with GVIA and MVIIA, localized near the pore region. Cd1a also inhibited human Nav1.1–1.2 and Nav1.7–1.8 (IC50 0.1–6.9 μM) but not Nav1.3–1.6 (IC50 > 30 μM) in fluorimetric assays. In patch-clamp assays, Cd1a strongly inhibited human Nav1.7 (IC50 16 nM) and produced a 29 mV depolarising shift in Nav1.7 voltage dependence of activation. Cd1a (400 pmol) fully reversed Nav1.7-evoked pain behaviours in mice without producing side effects. In conclusion, Cd1a inhibited two anti-nociceptive targets, appearing to interfere with Cav2.2 inactivation gating, associated with the Cav2.2 α-subunit pore, while altering the activation gating of Nav1.7. Cd1a was inactive at some of the Nav and Cav channels expressed in skeletal and cardiac muscles and nodes of Ranvier, apparently contributing to the lack of side effects at efficacious doses, and suggesting potential as a lead for development of peripheral pain treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are ligand gated ion channels, identified as therapeutic targets for a range of human diseases. Drug design for nAChR related disorders is increasingly using structure-based approaches. Many of these structural insights for therapeutic lead development have been obtained from co-crystal structures of nAChR agonists and antagonists with the acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP). AChBP is a water soluble, structural and functional homolog of the extracellular, ligand-binding domain of nAChRs. Currently, AChBPs are recombinantly expressed in eukaryotic expression systems for structural and biophysical studies. Here, we report the establishment of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression system that significantly reduces the cost and time of production compared to the existing expression systems. E. coli can efficiently express unglycosylated AChBP for crystallography and makes the expression of isotopically labelled forms feasible for NMR. We used a pHUE vector containing an N-terminal His-tagged ubiquitin fusion protein to facilitate AChBP expression in the soluble fractions, and thus avoid the need to recover protein from inclusion bodies. The purified protein yield obtained from the E. coli expression system is comparable to that obtained from existing AChBP expression systems. E. coli expressed AChBP bound nAChR agonists and antagonists with affinities matching those previously reported. Thus, the E. coli expression system significantly simplifies the expression and purification of functional AChBP for structural and biophysical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells provide a useful in vitro model to study the mechanisms underlying neurotransmission and nociception. These cells are derived from human sympathetic neuronal tissue and thus, express a number of the Cav channel subtypes essential for regulation of important physiological functions, such as heart contraction and nociception, including the clinically validated pain target Cav2.2. We have detected mRNA transcripts for a range of endogenous expressed subtypes Cav1.3, Cav2.2 (including two Cav1.3, and three Cav2.2 splice variant isoforms) and Cav3.1 in SH-SY5Y cells; as well as Cav auxiliary subunits α2δ1–3, β1, β3, β4, γ1, γ4–5, and γ7. Both high- and low-voltage activated Cav channels generated calcium signals in SH-SY5Y cells. Pharmacological characterisation using ω-conotoxins CVID and MVIIA revealed significantly (∼ 10-fold) higher affinity at human versus rat Cav2.2, while GVIA, which interacts with Cav2.2 through a distinct pharmacophore had similar affinity for both species. CVID, GVIA and MVIIA affinity was higher for SH-SY5Y membranes vs whole cells in the binding assays and functional assays, suggesting auxiliary subunits expressed endogenously in native systems can strongly influence Cav2.2 channels pharmacology. These results may have implications for strategies used to identify therapeutic leads at Cav2.2 channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]