Binding of brevetoxins and ciguatoxin to the voltage-sensitive sodium channel and conformational analysis of brevetoxin B.

The marine toxins known generically as brevetoxins, as well as their structural relative ciguatoxin, are known as polyether ladder toxins, and bind uniquely to site 5 of the voltage-sensitive sodium channel. Rat brain synaptosome binding data show similarities in binding affinity for brevetoxins having the same structural (ladder) backbone, but different affinities between brevetoxins having different backbones. Ciguatoxin has a different backbone from the brevetoxins, but binds even more strongly to the same site. Could the flexibility of the backbone be related to their relative toxicities? As part of an effort to identify the common pharmacophore for the toxins, Monte Carlo methods were used to generate conformational models of the polyether ladder toxin brevetoxin B (PbTx-2) which shows significant flexibility at the juncture of the two 7-membered rings.