Immunochemistry of sea anemone toxins: structure-antigenicity relationships and toxin-receptor interactions probed by antibodies specific for one antigenic region.

Two antibody subpopulations directed against Anemonia sulcata toxin I or II have been purified by immunoaffinity chromatography. These antibodies are specific for a single antigenic region and were used in a structure-antigenicity relationship study using homologous toxins and chemically modified derivatives of A. sulcata toxin II. Asp-7 and/or Asp-9 and Gln-47 of toxin II were found to be implicated in the antigenic region recognized by the two antibody subpopulations. On the contrary, Arg-14, Lys-35, -36, and -46, and alpha-NH2 of the glycine residue of A. sulcata toxin II are not involved in the corresponding antigenic region. When assayed for interaction with the sodium channel, the antigenic region of toxin II, including Asp-9 and Gln-47, appeared fully accessible to its specific antibodies, suggesting that it is not involved in the binding of the toxin to its receptor.