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. 2000 Dec 1;352(Pt 2):251–255. doi: 10.1042/0264-6021:3520251

Charge reversal of ammodytoxin A, a phospholipase A2-toxin, does not abolish its neurotoxicity.

P Prijatelj 1, A Copic 1, I Krizaj 1, F Gubensek 1, J Pungercar 1
PMCID: PMC1221454  PMID: 11085916

Abstract

The positive charge concentrated at the C-terminal region of ammodytoxin (Atx) A, which is involved in presynaptic toxicity, has been reversed. A six-site mutant of AtxA (K108N/K111N/K127T/K128E/E129T/K132E , where K108N=Lys(108)-->Asn etc. ) was prepared, in which five out of seven C-terminal basic amino acid residues were substituted with neutral or acidic ones. The mutant was approximately 30-fold less lethal, but still neurotoxic. Consistent with this, its binding affinity for the neuronal receptors decreased by only a factor of five. Additionally, a single-site mutant of AtxA was prepared, with substitution at only one position (K127T) out of six mutated in the six-site mutant. Its toxicity indicated that most, if not all, of the six mutated residues partially contribute to the decreased lethality of the multiple-site mutant.

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Selected References

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