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International audience; The pentameric acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) is a soluble surrogate of the ligand binding domain of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Agonists bind within a nest of aromatic side chains contributed by loops C and F on opposing faces of each subunit interface. Crystal structures of Aplysia AChBP bound with the agonist anabaseine, two partial agonists selectively activating the alpha7 receptor, 3-(2,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)-anabaseine and its 4-hydroxy metabolite, and an indole-containing partial agonist, tropisetron, were solved at 2.7-1.75 A resolution. All structures identify the Trp 147 carbonyl oxygen as the hydrogen bond acceptor for the agonist-protonated nitrogen. In the partial agonist complexes, the benzylidene and indole substituent positions, dictated by tight interactions with loop F, preclude loop C from adopting the closed conformation seen for full agonists. Fluctuation in loop C position and duality in ligand binding orientations suggest molecular bases for partial agonism at full-length receptors. This study, while pointing to loop F as a major determinant of receptor subtype selectivity, also identifies a new template region for designing alpha7-selective partial agonists to treat cognitive deficits in mental and neurodegenerative disorders.

Collection Rencontres en toxinologie ISSN: 1760-6004 ; http://sfet.asso.fr/images/stories/SFET/pdf/EBook-RT16-2008-signets.pdf

The neuroligins are postsynaptic cell adhesion proteins whose associations with presynaptic neurexins participate in synaptogenesis. Mutations in the neuroligin and neurexin genes appear to be associated with autism and mental retardation. The crystal structure of a neuroligin reveals features not found in its catalytically active relatives, such as the fully hydrophobic interface forming the functional neuroligin dimer; the conformations of surface loops surrounding the vestigial active center; the location of determinants that are critical for folding and processing; and the absence of a macromolecular dipole and presence of an electronegative, hydrophilic surface for neurexin binding. The structure of a beta-neurexin-neuroligin complex reveals the precise orientation of the bound neurexin and, despite a limited resolution, provides substantial information on the Ca2+-dependent interactions network involved in trans-synaptic neurexin-neuroligin association. These structures exemplify how an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold varies in surface topography to confer adhesion properties and provide templates for analyzing abnormal processing or recognition events associated with autism.

ISBN: 2-7430-0958-6

Hydrolysis of acetylcholine catalyzed by acetylcholinesterase (AChE), one of the most efficient enzymes in nature, occurs at the base of a deep and narrow active center gorge. At the entrance of the gorge, the peripheral anionic site provides a binding locus for allosteric ligands, including substrates. To date, no structural information on substrate entry to the active center from the peripheral site of AChE or its subsequent egress has been reported. Complementary crystal structures of mouse AChE and an inactive mouse AChE mutant with a substituted catalytic serine (S203A), in various complexes with four substrates (acetylcholine, acetylthiocholine, succinyldicholine, and butyrylthiocholine), two non-hydrolyzable substrate analogues (m-(N,N,N-trimethylammonio)-trifluoroacetophenone and 4-ketoamyltrimethylammonium), and one reaction product (choline) were solved in the 2.05-2.65-A resolution range. These structures, supported by binding and inhibition data obtained on the same complexes, reveal the successive positions and orientations of the substrates bound to the peripheral site and proceeding within the gorge toward the active site, the conformations of the presumed transition state for acylation and the acyl-enzyme intermediate, and the positions and orientations of the dissociating and egressing products. Moreover, the structures of the AChE mutant in complexes with acetylthiocholine and succinyldicholine reveal additional substrate binding sites on the enzyme surface, distal to the gorge entry. Hence, we provide a comprehensive set of structural snapshots of the steps leading to the intermediates of catalysis and the potential regulation by substrate binding to various allosteric sites at the enzyme surface.

The target sites of three inhibitory monoclonal antibodies, Elec403, 408 and 410, on eel AChE have been defined previously. Elec403 and 410 are directed toward distinct but overlapping epitopes at the enzyme peripheral site, while Elec408 binds to a distinct regulatory site on the enzyme surface, where the "back door" may be located. Elec410 also inhibits Bunganus fasciatus AChE. To investigate the molecular determinants for AChE inhibition by these antibodies, we have cloned and sequenced the IgGs, generated, purified, characterized the Fab molecules, and initiated crystallographic and theoretical modeling studies. Preliminary data are presented.

Protein EstA from Aspergillus niger was characterized through a multifaced approach involving molecular biology, bioinformatics, biophysical, biochemical and enzymatical analyses. EstA was identified as the lead member, within the superfamily of proteins with an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold, of a new class of fungal esterases that also contains predicted homologs from other fungus species of known broad host-range pathogenicity.

Many peptidic toxins from animal venoms target neuronal or peripheral synaptic receptors with high affinities and specificities. Hence, these toxins are not only potent natural weapons but also precise molecular tools for pharmacological studies of their receptors. Although they belong to various structural and/or functional subfamilies, they often share similar molecular features, such as a highly reticulated scaffold presenting specific binding determinants.

International audience; The structural alpha/beta-hydrolase fold is characterized by a beta-sheet core of five to eight strands connected by alpha-helices to form a alpha/beta/alpha sandwich. The superfamily members, exemplified by the cholinesterases, diverged from a common ancestor into a number of hydrolytic enzymes displaying a wide range of substrate specificities, along with proteins with no recognized hydrolytic activity. In the enzymes, the catalytic triad residues are presented on loops of which one, the nucleophile elbow, is the most conserved feature of the fold. Of the other proteins, which all lack from one to all of the catalytic residues, some may simply be 'inactive' enzymes while others have been shown to be involved in heterologous surface recognition functions. The ESTHER (for esterases, alpha/beta-hydrolase enzymes and relatives) database (http://bioweb.ensam.inra.fr/esther) gathers and annotates all the published pieces of information (gene and protein sequences; biochemical, pharmacological, and structural data) related to the superfamily, and connects them together to provide the bases for studying structure-function relationships within the superfamily. The most recent developments of the database are presented.

The peripheral anionic site on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), located at the active site gorge entry, encompasses overlapping binding sites for allosteric activators and inhibitors. Yet the molecular mechanisms coupling this site to the active center at the base of the gorge to modulate catalysis remain unclear. Crystal structures of mAChE bound with decidium, propidium and gallamine unveiled new determinants contributing to ligand interactions at the peripheral site. Subsequent studies using the syn and anti regioisomers of the click-chemistry inhibitor, TZ2PA6, that link propidium and tacrine moieties via distinctively substituted triazoles, revealed the inherent flexibility and a unique conformation of the peripheral site, along with substantial binding contributions from the triazoles with the Tyr337 region within the gorge. The recently solved structures of the mAChE mutant, Tyr337Ala, complexed with the TZ2PA6 isomers now reveals distinctive and time-dependent conformations of the complexes that are consistent with the triazole contribution to the energetics of inhibitor binding manifested in the respective dissociation rates of the complexes.

International audience; Upon ligand binding at the subunit interfaces, the extracellular domain of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor undergoes conformational changes, and agonist binding allosterically triggers opening of the ion channel. The soluble acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) from snail has been shown to be a structural and functional surrogate of the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of the receptor. Yet, individual AChBP species display disparate affinities for nicotinic ligands. The crystal structure of AChBP from Aplysia californica in the apo form reveals a more open loop C and distinctive positions for other surface loops, compared with previous structures. Analysis of Aplysia AChBP complexes with nicotinic ligands shows that loop C, which does not significantly change conformation upon binding of the antagonist, methyllycaconitine, further opens to accommodate the peptidic antagonist, a-conotoxin ImI, but wraps around the agonists lobeline and epibatidine. The structures also reveal extended and nonoverlapping interaction surfaces for the two antagonists, outside the binding loci for agonists. This comprehensive set of structures reflects a dynamic template for delineating further conformational changes of the LBD of the nicotinic receptor.

International audience; The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between unactivated azides and acetylenes proceeds exceedingly slowly at room temperature. However, considerable rate acceleration is observed when this reaction occurs inside the active center gorge of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) between certain azide and acetylene reactants, attached via methylene chains to specific inhibitor moieties selective for the active center and peripheral site of the enzyme. AChE catalyzes the formation of its own inhibitor in a highly selective fashion: only a single syn1-triazole regioisomer with defined substitution positions and linker distances is generated from a series of reagent combinations. Inhibition measurements revealed this syn1-triazole isomer to be the highest affinity reversible organic inhibitor of AChE with association rate constants near the diffusion limit. The corresponding anti1 isomer, not formed by the enzyme, proved to be a respectable but weaker inhibitor. The crystal structures of the syn1- and anti1-mouse AChE complexes at 2.45- to 2.65-Å resolution reveal not only substantial binding contributions from the triazole moieties, but also that binding of the syn1 isomer induces large and unprecedented enzyme conformational changes not observed in the anti1 complex nor predicted from structures of the apoenzyme and complexes with the precursor reactants. Hence, the freeze-frame reaction offers both a strategically original approach for drug discovery and a means for kinetically controlled capture, as a high-affinity complex between the enzyme and its self-created inhibitor, of a highly reactive minor abundance conformer of a fluctuating protein template.Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) rapidly terminates cholinergic neurotransmission by catalyzing the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, and inhibitors of AChE have been used for over a century in various therapeutic regimens (1, 2). The structure of the target enzyme reveals a narrow gorge ≈20 Å in depth with the catalytic triad of the active center at its base (3). Distinctive inhibitors bind to the active center or to a peripheral anionic site (PAS) located at the rim of the gorge near the enzyme surface (4-6). Previously, we generated a library of active site and PAS inhibitors with respective tacrine and phenanthridinium nuclei, each equipped with an azide or acetylene group at the end of a flexible methylene chain, to enable the reporting 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to occur (Scheme 1) (7). AChE itself served as the reaction vessel, synthesizing its own inhibitor from these building blocks, in effect, by equilibrium-controlled sampling of various possible pairs of reactants in its active center gorge until irreversible cycloaddition between azide and acetylene ensued at an intersecting point within the gorge, between the two anchoring positions. From 49 building block combinations, the enzyme selected the TZ2/PA6 pair to form, with an enhanced reaction rate, a highly regioselective syn1 triazole as the sole product (Scheme 1). In contrast, chemical synthesis by thermal reaction in the absence of enzyme proceeds very slowly and provides an ≈1:1 mixture of syn1 and anti1 regioisomers, which differ in the nitrogen substitution positions on the 1,2,3-triazole. Although both are high-affinity inhibitors, the syn1 isomer, with a 100-fold greater affinity and a subpicomolar dissociation constant for certain AChEs (7), has a potency greater than all known noncovalent organic AChE inhibitors and high selectivity for individual cholinesterases.

International audience; The peripheral anionic site on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), located at the active center gorge entry, encompasses overlapping binding sites for allosteric activators and inhibitors; yet, the molecular mechanisms coupling this site to the active center at the gorge base to modulate catalysis remain unclear. The peripheral site has also been proposed to be involved in heterologous protein associations occurring during synaptogenesis or upon neurodegeneration. A novel crystal form of mouse AChE, combined with spectrophotometric analyses of the crystals, enabled us to solve unique structures of AChE with a free peripheral site, and as three complexes with peripheral site inhibitors: the phenylphenanthridinium ligands, decidium and propidium, and the pyrogallol ligand, gallamine, at 2.20–2.35 Å resolution. Comparison with structures of AChE complexes with the peptide fasciculin or with organic bifunctional inhibitors unveils new structural determinants contributing to ligand interactions at the peripheral site, and permits a detailed topographic delineation of this site. Hence, these structures provide templates for designing compounds directed to the enzyme surface that modulate specific surface interactions controlling catalytic activity and non-catalytic heterologous protein associations.

Native high-voltage-gated calcium channels are multi-subunit complexes comprising a pore-forming subunit Ca(v) and at least two auxiliary subunits alpha(2)delta and beta. The beta subunit facilitates cell-surface expression of the channel and contributes significantly to its biophysical properties. In spite of its importance, detailed structural and functional studies are hampered by the limited availability of native beta subunit. Here, we report the purification of a recombinant calcium-channel beta(4) subunit from bacterial extracts by using a polyhistidine tag. The purified protein is fully functional since it binds on the alpha1 interaction domain, its main Ca(v)-binding site, and regulates the activity of P/Q calcium channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes in a similar way to the beta(4) subunit produced by cRNA injection. We took advantage of the functionality of the purified material to (i) develop an efficient surface-plasmon resonance assay of the interaction between two calcium channel subunits and (ii) measure, for the first time, the affinity of the recombinant His-beta(4) subunit for the full-length Ca(v)2.1 channel. The availability of this purified material and the development of a surface-plasmon resonance assay opens two immediate research perspectives: (i) drug screening programmes applied to the Ca(v)/beta interaction and (ii) crystallographic studies of the calcium-channel beta(4) subunit.

International audience; Our previous molecular dynamics simulation (10 ns) of mouse acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) revealed complex fluctuation of the enzyme active site gorge. Now we report a 5-ns simulation of acetylcholinesterase complexed with fasciculin 2. Fasciculin 2 binds to the gorge entrance of acetylcholinesterase with excellent complementarity and many polar and hydrophobic interactions. In this simulation of the protein−protein complex, where fasciculin 2 appears to sterically block access of ligands to the gorge, again we observe a two-peaked probability distribution of the gorge width. When fasciculin is present, the gorge width distribution is altered such that the gorge is more likely to be narrow. Moreover, there are large increases in the opening of alternative passages, namely, the side door (near Thr 75) and the back door (near Tyr 449). Finally, the catalytic triad arrangement in the acetylcholinesterase active site is disrupted with fasciculin bound. These data support that, in addition to the steric obstruction seen in the crystal structure, fasciculin may inhibit acetylcholinesterase by combined allosteric and dynamical means. Additional data from these simulations can be found at http://mccammon.ucsd.edu/.

International audience; The toxic polypeptides alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-dendrotoxin (DTX), known to be potent blockers of voltage-dependent potassium channels of the Kv1 family, were purified from the venom of the green mamba Dendroaspis angusticeps. Their binding behaviour to synaptosomal membranes of rat brain was analysed and compared with that of kaliotoxin (KTX), in a competition assay using [(125)I] KTX. alpha-DTX and delta-DTX were found to compete with radioiodinated-KTX (IC(50) of 8 pM and 0.2 nM respectively), whereas gamma-DTX did not. Several minor components that competed with radioiodinated-KTX binding were identified and characterised chemically and biologically.

Fasciculins, isolated from the venom of mambas (genus, Dendroaspis), are named after the long-lasting muscle fasciculations they produce in mice (Rodriguez-Ithurralde et al., 1983). They are potent and selective inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChEl:EC 3.1.1.7) (Karlsson et al., 1984 Harvey et al., 1984). These 7-kDa proteins, with their three extended loops emerging from a dense core that contains four disulphide bridges, belong to the family of three-fingered snake toxins that includes the selective nicotinic receptor blockers, aneurotoxins (Lee and Chang, 1966;Changeux et al., 1970; Endo and Tamiya, 1991) and к-neurotoxins (Chiappinelli, 1983Oswald et al., 1991), the subtype-specific muscarinic receptor agonists (Adem et al., 1988; Segalas et al., 1995), the L-type calcium channel blockers, calciseptine and FS2 (de Weille et al., 1991Albrand et al., 1995), the GPIIb-IIIa antagonist and platelet aggregation inhibitor, RGD-containing dendroaspin (or mambin) (McDowell et al., 1992;Sutcliffe et al., 1994), and the cell membrane lytic cardiotoxins (or cytotoxins) (Bougis et al., 1981; Dufton and Hider, 1991). Thus, despite a highly conserved structural motif, the toxins in this family have diverse targets and display highly selective individual modes of action.

International audience; The crystal structure of mouse acetylcholinesterase at 2.9-Å resolution reveals a tetrameric assembly of subunits with an antiparallel alignment of two canonical homodimers assembled through four-helix bundles. In the tetramer, a short ⍀ loop, composed of a cluster of hydrophobic residues conserved in mammalian acetylcholinesterases along with flanking ␣-helices, associates with the peripheral anionic site of the facing subunit and sterically occludes the entrance of the gorge leading to the active center. The inverse loop-peripheral site interaction occurs within the second pair of subunits, but the peripheral sites on the two loop-donor subunits remain freely accessible to the solvent. The position and complementarity of the peripheral site-occluding loop mimic the characteristics of the central loop of the peptidic inhibitor fasciculin bound to mouse acetylcholinesterase. Tetrameric forms of cholinesterases are widely distributed in nature and predominate in mammalian brain. This structure reveals a likely mode of subunit arrangement and suggests that the peripheral site, located near the rim of the gorge, is a site for association of neighboring subunits or heterologous proteins with interactive surface loops.

International audience; Acetylcholinesterase, a polymorphic enzyme, appears to form amphiphilic and nonamphiphilic tetramers from a single splice variant; this suggests discrete tetrameric arrangements where the amphipathic carboxyl-terminal sequences can be either buried or exposed. Two distinct, but related crystal structures of the soluble, trypsin-released tetramer of acetylcholinesterase from Electrophorus electricus were solved at 4.5 and 4.2 A resolution by molecular replacement. Resolution at these levels is sufficient to provide substantial information on the relative orientations of the subunits within the tetramer. The two structures, which show canonical homodimers of subunits assembled through four-helix bundles, reveal discrete geometries in the assembly of the dimers to form: (a) a loose, pseudo-square planar tetramer with antiparallel alignment of the two four-helix bundles and a large space in the center where the carboxyl-terminal sequences may be buried or (b) a compact, square nonplanar tetramer that may expose all four sequences on a single side. Comparison of these two structures points to significant conformational flexibility of the tetramer about the four-helix bundle axis and along the dimer-dimer interface. Hence, in solution, several conformational states of a flexible tetrameric arrangement of acetylcholinesterase catalytic subunits may exist to accommodate discrete carboxyl-terminal sequences of variable dimensions and amphipathicity.

L’acetylcholinesterase (AChE) est une enzyme-cle du mecanisme de transmission cholinergique. Les fas- ciculines, petites proteines « a trois doigts » isolees des venins de serpent mamba, sont des inhibiteurs puissants et selectifs des AChEs de mammiferes et poissons electriques. L’interaction fasciculine-AChE constitue un exemple parfait d’interaction entre une toxine animale et son recepteur macromoleculaire. En effet, par leur selectivite, leur remarquable affinite, leur caractere d’inhibiteur allosterique, et leur nature proteique (donc accessible a la chimie des proteines et la biologie moleculaire), les fasciculines constituent des outils de choix, « scalpels moleculaires » pour l’etude de l’AChE. Les travaux presentes dans ce chapitre ont ete menes selon une approche multidisciplinaire faisant intervenir des techniques distinctes, mais complementaires, ainsi que de nombreuses collaborations. Les resultats obtenus contribuent a la definition des bases structurales et dynamiques non seulement des mecanismes d'inhibition de l’AChE par les fasciculines, mais egalement de la fonctionnalite du site peripherique de l’AChE, site distinct du site catalytique et doue de proprietes regulatrices.

International audience; The pentameric structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with two of the five subunit interfaces serving as ligand binding sites offers an opportunity to distinguish features on the surfaces of the subunits and their ligand specificity characteristics. This problem has been approached through the study of assembly of subunits and binding characteristics of selective peptide toxins. The receptor, with its circular order of homologous subunits (αγαδβ), assembles in only one arrangement, and through mutagenesis, the residues governing assembly can be ascertained. Selectivity of certain toxins is sufficient to readily distinguish between sites at the αγ and αδ interfaces. By interchanging residues on the γ and δ subunits, and ascertaining how they interact with the α-subunit, determinants forming the binding sites can be delineated. The α-conotoxins, which contain two disulfide loops and 12–14 amino acids, show a 10 000-fold preference for the αγ over the αγ subunit interface with αε falling between the two. The waglerins, as 22–24 amino acid peptides with a single core disulfide loop, show a 2000-fold preference for αε over the αγ and αδ interfaces. Finally, the 6700 Da short α-neurotoxin from N. mossambica mossambica shows a 10 000-fold preference for the αγ and αδ interfaces over αε. Selective mutagenesis enables one to also distinguish α-neurotoxin binding at the αγ and αδ subunits. This information, when coupled with homology modeling of domains and site-directed residue modification, reveals important elements of receptor structure and conformation.; La structure pentamérique du récepteur nicotinique, dans laquelle deux des cinq interfaces entre sous-unités servent de sites de liaison pour l'acétylcholine, offre la possibilité de distinguer les caractéristiques des deux sites et leur spécificité pour les ligands. Nous avons abordé l'étude de l'assemblage des sous-unités par la liaison de toxines peptidiques sélectives. Le récepteur s'assemble d'une seule manière avec un ordre circulaire unique de sous-unité (αγδαβ), et il est possible d'identifier les résidus qui contrôlent ces interactions par mutagenèse dirigée. La sélectivité de certaines toxines est suffisante pour distinguer clairement les sites des interfaces αγ et αδ. En échangeant des résidus entre les sous-unités α et δ, et en analysant leurs associations avec la sous-unité α, on peut définir les déterminants des sites de liaison. Les conotoxines α formées de 12–14 acides aminés et contenant deux ponts disulfure se lient 10 000 lois mieux au site αγ, et de façon intermédiaire à αε. Les waglérines, formées de 20–24 acides aminés et possédant un seul pont disulfure se lient 2 000 fois mieux à αε qu'à αγ et αδ. Finalement, la neurotoxine α courte de 6 700 Da de Naja mossambica mossambica présente une préférence de 10 000 fois pour les interfaces αγ et αδ, par rapport à αε. La mutagenèse permet aussi de distinguer la liaison de l'α neurotoxine aux sites αγ et αδ. Ces informations, associées à la modélisation des domaines par homologie et la modification de résidus par mutagenè se dirigée, donnent d'importants éléments pour comprendre la structure et la conformation du récepteur.

International audience; The two binding sites in the pentameric nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of subunit composition alpha2 beta gamma delta are formed by nonequivalent alpha-gamma and alpha-delta subunit interfaces, which produce site selectivity in the binding of agonists and antagonists. We show by sedimentation analysis that 125I-alpha-conotoxin M1 binds with high affinity to the alpha-delta subunit dimers, but not to alpha-gamma dimers, nor to alpha, gamma, and delta monomers, a finding consistent with alpha-conotoxin M1 selectivity for the alpha delta interface in the intact receptor measured by competition against alpha-bungarotoxin binding. We also extend previous identification of alpha-conotoxin M1 determinants in the gamma and delta subunits to the alpha subunit interface by mutagenesis of conserved residues in the alpha subunit. Most mutations of the alpha subunit affect affinity similarly at the two sites, but Tyr93Phe, Val188Lys, Tyr190Thr, Tyr198Thr, and Asp152Asn affect affinity in a site-selective manner. Mutant cycle analysis reveals only weak or no interactions between mutant alpha and non-alpha subunits, indicating that side chains of the alpha subunit do not interact with those of the gamma or delta subunits in stabilizing alpha-conotoxin M1. The overall findings suggest different binding configurations of alpha-conotoxin M1 at the alpha-delta and alpha-gamma binding interfaces.

In mammals, the molecular forms of the cholinesterases are primary determinants of their tissue distribution and disposition within a cell; association of subunits also governs the turnover of the enzyme. The predominant form of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the central nervous system is an amphiphilic tetramer anchored to the membrane via a hydro-phobic, non-catalytic subunit, whereas at the neuromuscular junction it is an asymmetric form containing one to three tetramers, associated with the basal lamina via a collagen-like subunit [cf. 1]. Abnormal associations of AChE arise in dementias of the Alzheimer type [2], where a significant and selective loss of the amphiphilic AChE tetramers is observed [3, 4]. However, there is currently little structural information about the molecular determinants involved in association of subunits into tetramers and of tetramers with membrane-anchor subunits.

Fasciculin (FAS), a 61-amino acid peptide from snake toxin with three large loops formed by disulfide bonds, is an extremely potent (2 pM) inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Previously we have described the synthesis of recombinant DNA encoding various mutants of the snake toxin fasciculin attached to the leader peptide from erabutoxin, allowing secretion of the translated protein into the media of cultured cells (1). These mutants have now been stably expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells (CHO-K1). The cells can be grown in the absence of serum, and we have acheived production levels of up to 500 nmole (3.5 mg) per liter of culture.

Fasciculins are 7 kDa proteins that contain four disulfide bridges and are isolated from mamba venoms. They are members of the superfamily of three-fingered Elapidae snake toxins that include the selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor blockers, α- and κ-neurotoxins, the subtype-specific muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists, termed “muscarinic toxins”, the L-type calcium channel blockers, calciceptine and FS2, the GPIIa-IIIa antagonist and platelet aggregtion inhibitor, RGD-containing dendroaspin (or mambin), and the cell membrane lytic cardiotoxins (or cytotoxins) [1, and references therein]. Despite a highly conserved structural motif, the toxins in this family are directed to diverse targets, yet their individual modes of action are highly selective: fasciculins inhibit mammalian, electric fish, and some snake venom acetylcholinesterases (AChE) with Ki values in the pico- to nanomolar range, but micromolar concentrations are required to inhibit avian and insect AChEs, and butyrylcholinesterase [cf. 2 for review].

International audience; Protein EstA from Aspergillus niger was characterized through a multifaced approach involving molecular biology, bioinformatics, biophysical, biochemical and enzymatical analyses. EstA was identified as the lead member, within the superfamily of proteins with an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold, of a new class of fungal esterases that also contains predicted homologs from other fungus species of known broad host-range pathogenicity.

International audience; The availability of a crystal structure and comparative sequences of the cholinesterases has provided templates suitable for analyzing the molecular bases of specificity of reversible inhibitors, carbamoylating agents and organophosphates. Site-specific mutagenesis enables one to modify the structures of both the binding site and peptide ligand as well as create chimeras reflecting one type of esterase substituted in the template of another. Herein we define the bases for substrate specificity of carboxylesters, the stereospecificity of enantiomeric alkylphosphonates and the selectivity of tricyclic aromatic compounds in the active center of cholinesterase. We also describe the binding loci of the peripheral site and changes in catalytic parameters induced by peripheral site ligands, using the peptide fasciculin.

International audience; The crystal structure of the snake toxin fasciculin, bound to mouse acetylcholinesterase (mAChE), at 3.2 A resolution reveals a synergistic three-point anchorage consistent with the picomolar dissociation constant of the complex. Loop II of fasciculin contains a cluster of hydrophobic residues that interact with the peripheral anionic site of the enzyme and sterically occlude substrate access to the catalytic site. Loop I fits in a crevice near the lip of the gorge to maximize the surface area of contact of loop II at the gorge entry. The fasciculin core surrounds a protruding loop on the enzyme surface and stabilizes the whole assembly. Upon binding of fasciculin, subtle structural rearrangements of AChE occur that could explain the observed residual catalytic activity of the fasciculin-enzyme complex.

Fasciculins are the only known peptide inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with a high degree of selectivity. They are found in mamba snake venoms and have been shown to display powerful inhibitory activity toward mammalian and fish AChE. To date, four iso-fasciculins have been characterized: fasciculin 1 (FASI) and fasciculin 2 (FAS2) from the venom of Dendroaspis angusticeps (Rodriguez-Ithurralde et al., 1983), toxin C from the venom of D. polylepis (Joubert and Taljaard, 1978), and fasciculin 3 (FAS3) from a venom of D. viridis (Marchot et al., 1993). The early pharmacological and biochemical studies of FAS2, carried out both in vivo and in vitro on various AChE-containing tissues (Karlsson et al., 1984; Lin et al., 1987), showed that i) FAS2 inhibits several (but not all) AChEs from different sources, ii) inhibition is of pseudo-irreversible type with Ki values of about 10−11 M., iii) FAS2 is able to displace propidium, known as a specific probe for a peripheral anionic site of AChE (See Harvey et al., 1984 for a review).

International audience

Iodination of fasciculin 3 (FAS3) from Dendroaspis viridis venom provided us with a fully active specific probe of fasciculin binding sites on rat brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Binding and inhibition are concomitant, as association and inhibition rate constants k1 and ki are identical. The 125I-FAS3.AChE complex dissociates very slowly (t 1/2 = 48 h) and is characterized by a dissociation constant, Kd, of 0.4 pM. All the specific binding of 125I-FAS3 to AChE is prevented by FAS3 as from D. angusticeps venom (Kd = 0.4, 14, and 25 pM, respectively). It is also prevented by propidium iodide, BW284C51, and d-tubocurarine, which bind to peripheral anionic sites of AChE, by Ca2+ and Mg2+, known to enhance AChE activity through an allosteric phenomenon and by acetylthiocholine concentrations which lead to excess substrate inhibition of the enzyme. Diisopropyl fluorphosphate and paroxon, which inhibit AChE by phosphorylating the catalytic serine, have no effect on either the binding rate or the number of binding sites of 125I-FAS3. O-Ethyl-S2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothionate, however, which binds irreversibly to the AChE catalytic site but reversibly to a peripheral site, induces a 130% increase in the binding rate of 125I-FAS3, without changing the total number of 125I-FAS3 binding sites. Our results demonstrate that fasciculins bind on a peripheral site of AChE, distinct from the catalytic site and, at least partly, common with the sites on which some cationic inhibitors and the substrate in excess bind. Since phosphorylation of the catalytic serine (esteratic subsite) by [1,3-3H]diisopropyl fluorophosphate can still occur on the FAS3.AChE complex, the structural modification induced by fasciculins may affect the anionic subsite of AChE catalytic site.

International audience

An enzyme displaying proteolytic activity toward the natural substrate casein as well as clotting activity on fibrinogen was purified to homogeneity from Cerastes cerastes (horned viper) venom and characterized. The enzyme is constituted of two identical subunits of mol. wt 48,500 as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and has an isoelectric point of 3.75. N -terminal sequencing up to the 33rd residue evidenced a high homology with other snake venom proteinases. The proteinase is of serine-type as indicated by high sensitivity to DFP and shows both arginine-ester hydrolase and amidase activities on synthetic substrates. Both specific activities were 30-fold higher than the respective activities found in the crude venom. The K m value determined for arginine-containing substrate BAEE was 3.0×10 −4 M and the K m for chromogenic substrate CBS 34–47 0.65×10 −4 M. The V m K m ratio, however, was two-fold higher for BAEE than for CBS 34–47; the arginine-esterase activity of this enzyme is thus slightly higher than its amidase activity.

The crystal structure of the snake long alpha-neurotoxin, alpha-cobratoxin, bound to the pentameric acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) from Lymnaea stagnalis, was solved from good quality density maps despite a 4.2 A overall resolution. The structure unambiguously reveals the positions and orientations of all five three-fingered toxin molecules inserted at the AChBP subunit interfaces and the conformational changes associated with toxin binding. AChBP loops C and F that border the ligand-binding pocket move markedly from their original positions to wrap around the tips of the toxin first and second fingers and part of its C-terminus, while rearrangements also occur in the toxin fingers. At the interface of the complex, major interactions involve aromatic and aliphatic side chains within the AChBP binding pocket and, at the buried tip of the toxin second finger, conserved Phe and Arg residues that partially mimic a bound agonist molecule. Hence this structure, in revealing a distinctive and unpredicted conformation of the toxin-bound AChBP molecule, provides a lead template resembling a resting state conformation of the nicotinic receptor and for understanding selectivity of curaremimetic alpha-neurotoxins for the various receptor species.

International audience; From the fungus Aspergillus niger, we identified a new gene encoding protein EstA, a member of the alpha/beta-hydrolase fold superfamily but of unknown substrate specificity. EstA was overexpressed and its crystal structure was solved by molecular replacement using a lipase-acetylcholinesterase chimera template. The 2.1 A resolution structure of EstA reveals a canonical Ser/Glu/His catalytic triad located in a small pocket at the bottom of a large solvent-accessible, bowl-shaped cavity. Potential substrates selected by manual docking procedures were assayed for EstA activity. Consistent with the pocket geometry, preference for hydrolysis of short acyl/propyl chain substrates was found. Identification of close homologs from the genome of other fungi, of which some are broad host-range pathogens, defines EstA as the first member of a novel class of fungal esterases within the superfamily. Hence the structure of EstA constitutes a lead template in the design of new antifungal agents directed toward its pathogenic homologs.

International audience; Using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), to resolve less than 1 mg of scorpion venom, quantitative variations in protein components were demonstrated in Androctonus australis Hector venoms obtained either by electric or manual stimulation. The results support polymorphism of scorpion venom components at an individual level.

International audience; High-resolution phase-sensitive two-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance was used to monitor the preparation by high-performance liquid chromatography of homogeneous proteins from the venom of Naja mossambica mossambica. This resulted in the characterization of a heterogeneous protein preparation VII2, which had been used in earlier structural studies by NMR, as well as a homogeneous protein CTXIIb and a nearly homogeneous protein fraction CTXIIa, which are now both subject to further investigations of their solution conformations.

Fasciculin 2 from the venom of the green mamba, Dendroaspis angusticeps, has been crystallized. The crystals are tetragonal, with unit cell dimensions a = 48.9 A and c = 82.0 A, space group P 41 21 2 or P 43212. Density measurements and pseudocentering of the hko zone indicate that there are 16 molecules in the unit cell.

International audience; Cardiotoxins are small basic proteins which cause heart failure when they are injected in vivo. In order to better understand their molecular mode of action, short peptides designed on the model of the first loop of the molecule of cardiotoxin IV from Naja mossambica mossambica venom have been synthetized by the solid-phase procedure of Merrifield. These peptides express lethality in mouse when they are injected intravenously. Taking into account the respective molecular weights, they are 3.5 to 5% as toxic as the cardiotoxin. Furthermore, the symptomatology they induce is undistinguishable from that induced by cardiotoxins. These results strongly support our previous hypothesis that the first loop of the molecule is the toxic site of cardiotoxins.

International audience; The vast majority of Elapidae snake venoms, genus Naja, includes three classes of toxic polypeptides: alpha-neurotoxins, phospholipases A2, and cardiotoxins. A new experimental approach using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography in particular has been developed, allowing their respective resolution, identification, and quantitation from milligram quantities of venom. First, definition of optimal chromatographic conditions for Naja mossambica mossambica toxins has been ascertained. Different column packing and solvent systems were compared for their efficiency, with particular attention to the ionic strength of the aqueous solvent. A medium-chain alkyl support (octyl) in conjunction with a volatile ammonium formate (0.15 M, pH 2.70)/acetonitrile solvent system was found to be particularly effective. All the components known until now from this venom could be resolved in a single step, and the elution order was alpha-neurotoxins, phospholipases A2, and cardiotoxins with a total recovery of absorbance and toxicity. Then, with these suitable conditions, we describe a new major cardiotoxin molecule in this venom by hydrophobic and not ionic-charge discrimination. Second, specific assays were designed to detect alpha-neurotoxin and phospholipase A2 activities in chromatographic fractions: alpha-neurotoxin activity was determined by competition for the binding of a radiolabeled alpha-neurotoxin to the acetylcholine receptor of the ray electric organ, and phospholipase A2 activity was defined by the enzymatic activity of these toxins with a fluorescent phospholipid as substrate. Finally, the applicability of these new methods to study other Naja snake venoms was demonstrated.