Three Peptide Modulators of the Human Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel 1.7, an Important Analgesic Target, from the Venom of an Australian Tarantula

Voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels are responsible for propagating action potentials in excitable cells. NaV1.7 plays a crucial role in the human pain signalling pathway and it is an important therapeutic target for treatment of chronic pain. Numerous spider venom peptides have been shown to modulate the activity of NaV channels and these peptides represent a rich source of research tools and therapeutic lead molecules. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of NaV1.7-active peptides in the venom of an Australian Phlogius sp. tarantula and to characterise their potency and subtype selectivity. We isolated three novel peptides, μ-TRTX-Phlo1a, -Phlo1b and -Phlo2a, that inhibit human NaV1.7 (hNaV1.7). Phlo1a and Phlo1b are 35-residue peptides that differ by one amino acid and belong in NaSpTx family 2. The partial sequence of Phlo2a revealed extensive similarity with ProTx-II from NaSpTx family 3. Phlo1a and Phlo1b inhibit hNaV1.7 with IC50 values of 459 and 360 nM, respectively, with only minor inhibitory activity on rat NaV1.2 and hNaV1.5. Although similarly potent at hNaV1.7 (IC50 333 nM), Phlo2a was less selective, as it also potently inhibited rNaV1.2 and hNaV1.5. All three peptides cause a depolarising shift in the voltage-dependence of hNaV1.7 activation

PHAB toxins: A unique family of predatory sea anemone toxins evolving via intra-gene concerted evolution defines a new peptide fold

Sea anemone venoms have long been recognized as a rich source of peptides with interesting pharmacological and structural properties, but they still contain many uncharacterized bioactive compounds. Here we report the discovery, three-dimensional structure, activity, tissue localization, and putative function of a novel sea anemone peptide toxin that constitutes a new, sixth type of voltage-gated potassium channel (KV) toxin from sea anemones. Comprised of just 17 residues, κ-actitoxin-Ate1a (Ate1a) is the shortest sea anemone toxin reported to date, and it adopts a novel three-dimensional structure that we have named the Proline-Hinged Asymmetric β-hairpin (PHAB) fold. Mass spectrometry imaging and bioassays suggest that Ate1a serves a primarily predatory function by immobilising prey, and we show this is achieved through inhibition of Shaker-type KV channels. Ate1a is encoded as a multi-domain precursor protein that yields multiple identical mature peptides, which likely evolved by multiple domain duplication events in an actinioidean ancestor. Despite this ancient evolutionary history, the PHAB-encoding gene family exhibits remarkable sequence conservation in the mature peptide domains. We demonstrate that this conservation is likely due to intra-gene concerted evolution, which has to our knowledge not previously been reported for toxin genes. We propose that the concerted evolution of toxin domains provides a hitherto unrecognised way to circumvent the effects of the costly evolutionary arms race considered to drive toxin gene evolution by ensuring efficient secretion of ecologically important predatory toxins

Synthetic hookworm-derived peptides are potent modulators of primary human immune cell function that protect against experimental colitis in vivo

The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is on the rise globally. Currently, autoimmunity presents in over 100 different forms and affects around 9% of the world’s population. Current treatments available for autoimmune diseases are inadequate, expensive, and tend to focus on symptom management rather than cure. Clinical trials have shown that live helminthic therapy can decrease chronic inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal autoimmune inflammatory conditions. As an alternative and better controlled approach to live infection, we have identified and characterized two peptides, Acan1 and Nak1, from the excretory/secretory component of parasitic hookworms for their therapeutic activity on experimental colitis. We synthesized Acan1 and Nak1 peptides from the Ancylostoma caninum and Necator americanus hookworms and assessed their structures and protective properties in human cell–based assays and in a mouse model of acute colitis. Acan1 and Nak1 displayed anticolitic properties via significantly reducing weight loss and colon atrophy, edema, ulceration, and necrosis in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid–exposed mice. These hookworm peptides prevented mucosal loss of goblet cells and preserved intestinal architecture. Acan1 upregulated genes responsible for the repair and restitution of ulcerated epithelium, whereas Nak1 downregulated genes responsible for epithelial cell migration and apoptotic cell signaling within the colon. These peptides were nontoxic and displayed key immunomodulatory functions in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by suppressing CD4+ T cell proliferation and inhibiting IL-2 and TNF production. We conclude that Acan1 and Nak1 warrant further development as therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmunity, particularly gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions.</p