Abstract
The gene encoding the BmαTX14 (α-neurotoxin TX14) protein, derived from the cDNA library of the Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch, was expressed in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant protein was purified by metal chelate affinity chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. Using patch-clamp technique, electrophysiological activity of rBmαTX14 was identified. In the neurons isolated from mice trigeminal root ganglion, the Na+ current amplitude was reduced by 80% under whole cell patch-clamp recording. There were no apparent modifications to the gating mechanism in the presence of rBmαTX14. Although BmαTX14 shared a high amino acid sequence similarity with other typical α-toxins, it has different effects on neurons. Further electrophysiological analysis suggested that rBmαTX14 selectively blocked Na+ channels and is a member of a new group of scorpion toxins.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the grants from the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China to Li WX, Wu YL and Cao ZJ (Number: 30530140; 30500089; 30570045), the Provincial Natural Sciences Foundation of HuBei to Cao ZJ (Number: 2005ABA116) and the Youth Chenguang Project of Science and Technology of Wuhan City to Cao ZJ (Number: 20065004116-06).
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Wang, K., Yin, SJ., Lu, M. et al. Functional analysis of the α-neurotoxin, BmαTX14, derived from the Chinese scorpion, Buthus martensii Karsch. Biotechnol Lett 28, 1767–1772 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-006-9155-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-006-9155-y