α-Bungarotoxin Binding to Acetylcholine Receptor Membranes Studied by Low Angle X-Ray Diffraction

Abstract

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) carries two binding sites for snake venom neurotoxins. α-Bungarotoxin from the Southeast Asian banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is a long neurotoxin which competitively blocks the nAChR at the acetylcholine binding sites in a relatively irreversible manner. Low angle x-ray diffraction was used to generate electron density profile structures at 14-Å resolution for Torpedo californica nAChR membranes in the absence and presence of α-bungarotoxin. Analysis of the lamellar diffraction data indicated a 452-Å lattice spacing between stacked nAChR membrane pairs. In the presence of α-bungarotoxin, the quality of the diffraction data and the lamellar lattice spacing were unchanged. In the plane of the membrane, the nAChRs packed together with a nearest neighbor distance of 80 Å, and this distance increased to 85 Å in the presence of toxin. Electron density profile structures were calculated in the absence and presence of α-bungarotoxin, revealing a location for the toxin binding sites. In native, fully-hydrated nAChR membranes, α-bungarotoxin binds to the nAChR outer vestibule and contacts the surface of the membrane bilayer