Soluble expression, purification and functional identification of a disulfide-rich conotoxin derived from Conus litteratus

J Biotechnol. 2007 Jan 30;128(1):184-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2006.09.014. Epub 2006 Sep 27.

Abstract

Conotoxins are a diverse array of small peptides mostly with multiple disulfide bridges. These peptides become an increasing significant source of neuro-pharmacological probes and drugs as a result of the high selectivity for ion channels and receptors. Usually, the analogue of natural conotoxins is produced by means of chemical synthesis. Here, we present a simple and fast strategy of producing disulfide-rich conotoxins via recombinant expression. By fused with thioredoxin and His tag, a novel O-superfamily conotoxin lt7a was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and purified, resulting in a high yield of recombinant lt7a about 6 mg/l. The purity of target protein is up to 95% as identified by HPLC results. Whole cell patch-clamp recording revealed that the new conotoxin blocked voltage-sensitive sodium channels in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons, indicating it might be a novel microO-conotoxin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Conotoxins / isolation & purification*
  • Conotoxins / metabolism
  • Conotoxins / pharmacology
  • Conus Snail / metabolism
  • Disulfides
  • Electrophysiology
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Female
  • Ganglia, Spinal / drug effects
  • Ganglia, Spinal / physiology*
  • Male
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Recombinant Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Recombinant Proteins / pharmacology
  • Sodium Channels / drug effects

Substances

  • Conotoxins
  • Disulfides
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Sodium Channels

Associated data

  • GENBANK/ABC74981
  • GENBANK/DQ345373