The kaliotoxin family enlarged. Purification, characterization, and precursor nucleotide sequence of KTX2 from Androctonus australis venom.

Kaliotoxin (KTX) has been originally described as an inhibitor of the intermediate conductance Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel (Crest, M., Jacquet, G., Gola, M., Zerrouk, H., Benslimane, A., Rochat, H., Mansuelle, P., and Martin-Eauclaire, M.-F. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 1640-1647). However, the radioiodinated 125I-KTX-(1-37) was also able to bind to the dendrotoxin sensitive voltage-dependent K+ channel (Romi, R., Crest, M., Gola, M., Sampieri, F., Jacquet, G., Zerrouk, H., Mansuelle, P., Sorokine, O., Van Dorsselaer, A., Rochat, H., Martin-Eauclaire, M.-F., and Van Rietschoten, J. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 26302-26309). By following the ability to compete with 125I-KTX-(1-37) for binding to its receptor on rat brain synaptosomes, a new kaliotoxin-like peptide, KTX2, was isolated from Androctonus australis scorpion venom. It is a 37-amino acid residue peptide, and its sequence shares 76% identity with KTX. The differences between the two peptides concern the NH2-terminal region and the residues 31 and 34 located in the region involved in the channel recognition. These differences may explain the 5-fold decrease of the molluscan Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel blockage by KTX2 (kd = 135 nM) as well as of its binding affinity to rat brain synaptosomes (IC50 = 50 pM), compared with KTX. Specific antibodies raised against KTX-(1-37) were not able to recognize KTX2. Using degenerate primers, a 370-base pair cDNA encoding the KTX2 precursor was amplified by polymerase chain reaction from a cDNA library of A. australis venom glands. It encoded a presumed signal peptide of 22 residues followed by the sequence of the mature peptide.