Voltage-gated potassium channels are widespread among various cell types playing roles in numerous cellular functions by controlling the membrane potential. Pharmacological manipulation of these channels carries the potential of selective interference with such well-defined cellular functions if molecules that bind to them with high affinity and specificity are available. Scorpion venoms have long been known for containing small peptide toxins bearing these properties. We are particularly interested in peptides blocking T cell Kv1.3 channels whose normal operation is essential for T cell mediated immune responses.
We screened HPLC purified peptide fractions from Centruroides suffusus suffusus scorpion venom for Kv1.3 channel blocking potency. Screening resulted in one biologically active peptide component, which was purified to homogeneity and named Css20. The toxin's amino acid sequence was completed by Edman degradation and mass spectrometry analysis. It contains 38 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 4,000.3 Da, tightly folded by three disulfide bridges.
We have found that Css20 preferentially blocked the currents of the voltage-gated K+ channels Kv1.2 and Kv1.3. Its blocking potency was tested on six other potassium channels and a cardiac sodium channel, but the toxin proved ineffective at 10 nM concentration. Dose-response curves of Css20 yielded an IC50 of 1.3 and 7.2 nM for Kv1.2 and Kv1.3 channels, respectively. Interestingly, despite the similar affinities for the two channels the association and dissociation rates of the toxin were much slower for Kv1.2, implying that different interactions may be involved in binding to the two channel types; an implication further supported by in silico docking analyses. Based on the primary structure of Css20, the systematic nomenclature proposed for this toxin is α-KTx 2.13.