α-Conotoxins

• Autores: Arias, Hugo Rubén; Blanton, Michael P
• Año de publicación: 2000
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Α-Conotoxins; Competitive Antagonists; Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

α-Conotoxins (α-CgTxs) are a family of Cys-enriched peptides found in several marine snails from the genus Conus. These small peptides behave pharmacologically as competitive antagonists of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR). The data indicate that (1) α-CgTxs are able to discriminate between muscle- and neuronal-type AChRs and even among distinct AChR subtypes; (2) the binding sites for α-CgTxs are located, like other cholinergic ligands, at the interface of α and non-α subunits (γ, δ, and ε for the muscle-type AChR, and β for several neuronal-type AChRs); (3) some α-CgTxs differentiate the high- from the low-affinity binding site found on either α/non-α subunit interface; and that (4) specific residues in the cholinergic binding site are energetically coupled with their corresponding pairs in the toxin stabilizing the α-CgTx-AChR complex. The α-CgTxs have proven to be excellent probes for studying the structure and function of the AChR family.
Fil: Arias, Hugo Rubén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Matemática Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Matemática. Instituto de Matemática Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Texas Teach University Health Sciences Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Blanton, Michael P. Texas Teach University Health Sciences Center; Estados Unidos