α-Conotoxin ImI incorporating stable cystathionine bridges maintains full potency and identical three-dimensional structure

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Oct 12;133(40):15866-9. doi: 10.1021/ja206408q. Epub 2011 Sep 15.

Abstract

The two disulfide bonds of α-conotoxin ImI, a peptide antagonist of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), were systematically replaced with isosteric redox-stable cystathionine thioethers. Regioselective thioether formation was accomplished on solid support through substitution of a γ-chlorohomoalanine by an intramolecular cysteine thiol to produce hybrid thioether/disulfide analogues (2 and 3) as well as a dual cystathionine analogue (4) that were found to be structurally homologous to α-conotoxin ImI by (1)H NMR. The antagonistic activity at the α7 nAChR of cystathionine analogue 3 (pIC(50) = 6.41 ± 0.09) was identical to that of α-conotoxin ImI (1, pIC(50) = 6.41 ± 0.09), whereas those of 2 (pIC(50) = 5.96 ± 0.09) and 4 (pIC(50) = 5.89 ± 0.09) showed a modest decrease. The effect of oxidation of the thioethers to sulfoxides was also investigated, with significant changes in the biological activities observed ranging from a >30-fold reduction (2S═O) to a 3-fold increase (3S═O(B)) in potencies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Conotoxins / chemistry*
  • Conus Snail / chemistry
  • Cystathionine / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nicotinic Antagonists / chemistry*
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Protein Conformation
  • Receptors, Nicotinic / metabolism
  • alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Substances

  • Conotoxins
  • Nicotinic Antagonists
  • Receptors, Nicotinic
  • alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
  • alpha-conotoxin ImI
  • Cystathionine