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Structure (London, England : 1993)Aug 2024 DOI:
10.1016/j.str.2024.07.021

Scorpion α-toxin LqhαIT specifically interacts with a glycan at the pore domain of voltage-gated sodium channels

Phulera, Swastik; Dickson, Callum J; Schwalen, Christopher J; Khoshouei, Maryam; Cassell, Samantha J; Sun, Yishan; Condos, Tara; Whicher, Jonathan; Weihofen, Wilhelm A
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Abstract
Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels sense membrane potential and drive cellular electrical activity. The deathstalker scorpion α-toxin LqhαIT exerts a strong action potential prolonging effect on Nav channels. To elucidate the mechanism of action of LqhαIT, we determined a 3.9 Å cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of LqhαIT in complex with the Nav channel from Periplaneta americana (NavPas). We found that LqhαIT binds to voltage sensor domain 4 and traps it in an S4 down conformation. The functionally essential C-terminal epitope of LqhαIT forms an extensive interface with the glycan scaffold linked to Asn330 of NavPas that augments a small protein-protein interface between NavPas and LqhαIT. A combination of molecular dynamics simulations, structural comparisons, and prior mutagenesis experiments demonstrates the functional importance of this toxin-glycan interaction. These findings establish a structural basis for the specificity achieved by scorpion α-toxins and reveal the conserved glycan as an essential component of the toxin-binding epitope.
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Genes

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