Protease inhibitor homologues of dendrotoxin do not bind to dendrotoxin acceptors on synaptosomal membranes or facilitate neuromuscular transmission

D L Marshall, A L Harvey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The dendrotoxins are a homologous group of potassium channel-blocking polypeptides found in mamba snake venom. They are similar in sequence and structure to Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors. Modified and native protease inhibitors were assayed for dendrotoxin-like activity using radioligand-binding and twitch tension-recording methods. Despite the large number and high concentration of compounds tested, no protease inhibitor displayed dendrotoxin-like activity. The results indicate that the protease-inhibiting and potassium channel-blocking activities of these two groups of polypeptides are not linked.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)707-714
Number of pages8
JournalBiological chemistry Hoppe-Seyler
Volume373
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1992

Keywords

  • amino acid sequence
  • animals
  • chickens
  • elapid venoms
  • iodine radioisotopes
  • kinetics
  • membranes
  • molecular sequence data
  • muscle contraction
  • neuromuscular junction
  • potassium channels
  • protease inhibitors
  • radioligand assay
  • rats
  • cholinergic receptors
  • structure-activity relationship
  • synaptic transmission
  • synaptosomes

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