Chemical Modification of Cationic Groups of a Novel α-Neurotoxin (Oh-4) from King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) Venom

抄録

The cationic groups of arginine and lysine residues in Oh-4, a novel α-neurotoxin from king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) venom were subjected to modification with p-hydroxyphenylglyoxal (HPG) and trinitrobenzene sulfonate (TNBS), respectively. Monoderivatization of Arg-35, resulted in a drastic loss in neurotoxicity to 25% of the native toxin. The activity was decreased to a greater extent with the derivative extensively modified on Arg-35, -9, and -37. The Arg-35-modified derivative retained about a half of the antigenicity of the native toxin, and extensive modification on Arg-9 and Arg-37 caused a further decrease in the antigenicity of the toxin molecule. Selective trinitrophenylation (TNP-) of Lys-51 caused losses of neurotoxicity and antigenicity by 77 and 83%, respectively. These results indicate that Arg-35 and Lys-51 in Oh-4 have important roles in the neurotoxicity. In contrast to the Arg residues at 9, 35, and 37, Lys-51 plays a more critical role in the antigenicity.