Structural basis of the myotoxic inhibition of the Bothrops pirajai PrTX-I by the synthetic varespladib.

Varespladib (LY315920) is a potent inhibitor of human group IIA phospholipase A (PLA) originally developed to control inflammatory cascades of diseases associated with high or dysregulated levels of endogenous PLA. Recently, varespladib was also found to inhibit snake venom PLA and PLA-like toxins. Herein, ex vivo neuromuscular blocking activity assays were used to test the inhibitory activity of varespladib. The binding affinity between varespladib and a PLA-like toxin was quantified and compared with other potential inhibitors for this class of proteins. Crystallographic and bioinformatic studies showed that varespladib binds to PrTX-I and BthTX-I into their hydrophobic channels, similarly to other previously characterized PLA-like myotoxins. However, a new finding is that an additional varespladib binds to the MDiS region, a particular site that is related to muscle cell disruption by these toxins. The present results further advance the characterization of the molecular interactions of varespladib with PLA-like myotoxins and provide additional evidence for this compound as a promising inhibitor candidate for different PLA and PLA-like toxins.