Imperatoxin

Abstract: Single-channel and [3H]ryanodine binding experiments were carried out to examine the effects of imperatoxin activator (IpTxa), a 33 amino acid peptide isolated from the venom of the African scorpion Pandinus imperator, on rabbit skeletal and canine cardiac muscle Ca2+ release channels (CRCs). Single channel currents from purified CRCs incorporated into planar lipid bilayers were recorded in 250 mM KCl media. Addition of IpTxa in nanomolar concentration to the cytosolic (cis) side, but not to the lumenal (trans) side, induced substates in both ryanodine receptor isoforms. The substates displayed a slightly rectifying current-voltage relationship. The chord conductance at -40 mV was approximately 43% of the full conductance, whereas it was approximately 28% at a holding potential of +40 mV. The substate formation by IpTxa was voltage and concentration dependent. Analysis of voltage and concentration dependence and kinetics of substate formation suggested that IpTxa reversibly binds to the CRC at a single site in the voltage drop across the channel. The rate constant for IpTxa binding to the skeletal muscle CRC increased e-fold per +53 mV and the rate constant of dissociation decreased e-fold per +25 mV applied holding potential. The effective valence of the reaction leading to the substate was approximately 1.5. The IpTxa binding site was calculated to be located at approximately 23% of the voltage drop from the cytosolic side. IpTxa induced substates in the ryanodine-modified skeletal CRC and increased or reduced [3H]ryanodine binding to sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles depending on the level of channel activation. These results suggest that IpTxa induces subconductance states in skeletal and cardiac muscle Ca2+ release channels by binding to a single, cytosolically accessible site different from the ryanodine binding site.

Abstract: Scorpion venoms are rich in ion channel-modifying peptides, which have proven to be invaluable probes of ion channel structure-function relationship. We previously isolated imperatoxin A (IpTxa), a 3.7 kDa peptide activator of Ca2+-release channels/ryanodine receptors (RyRs) [1,2,3] and founding member of the calcin family of scorpion peptides. IpTxa folds into a compact, mostly hydrophobic molecule with a cluster of positively-charged, basic residues polarized on one side of the molecule that possibly interacts with the phospholipids of cell membranes. To investigate whether IpTxa permeates external cellular membranes and targets RyRs in vivo, we perfused IpTxa on intact cardiomyocytes while recording field-stimulated intracellular Ca2+ transients. To further investigate the cell-penetrating capabilities of the toxin, we prepared thiolated, fluorescent derivatives of IpTxa. Biological activity and spectroscopic properties indicate that these derivatives retain high affinity for RyRs and are only 5- to 10-fold less active than native IpTxa. Our results demonstrate that IpTxa is capable of crossing cell membranes to alter the release of Ca2+ in vivo, and has the capacity to carry a large, membrane-impermeable cargo across the plasma membrane, a finding with exciting implications for novel drug delivery.