GLORIA

GEOMAR Library Ocean Research Information Access

Your email was sent successfully. Check your inbox.

An error occurred while sending the email. Please try again.

Proceed reservation?

Export
Filter
  • Alewood, Paul F.  (4)
  • Biodiversity Research  (4)
  • Natural Sciences  (4)
  • 1
    In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 119, No. 5 ( 2022-02)
    Abstract: The King Baboon spider, Pelinobius muticus , is a burrowing African tarantula. Its impressive size and appealing coloration are tempered by reports describing severe localized pain, swelling, itchiness, and muscle cramping after accidental envenomation. Hyperalgesia is the most prominent symptom after bites from P. muticus , but the molecular basis by which the venom induces pain is unknown. Proteotranscriptomic analysis of P. muticus venom uncovered a cysteine-rich peptide, δ/κ-theraphotoxin-Pm1a (δ/κ-TRTX-Pm1a), that elicited nocifensive behavior when injected into mice. In small dorsal root ganglion neurons, synthetic δ/κ-TRTX-Pm1a (sPm1a) induced hyperexcitability by enhancing tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium currents, impairing repolarization and lowering the threshold of action potential firing, consistent with the severe pain associated with envenomation. The molecular mechanism of nociceptor sensitization by sPm1a involves multimodal actions over several ion channel targets, including Na V 1.8, K V 2.1, and tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na V channels. The promiscuous targeting of peptides like δ/κ-TRTX-Pm1a may be an evolutionary adaptation in pain-inducing defensive venoms.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0027-8424 , 1091-6490
    RVK:
    RVK:
    Language: English
    Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 209104-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1461794-8
    SSG: 11
    SSG: 12
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
  • 2
    In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 118, No. 18 ( 2021-05-04)
    Abstract: Venoms have evolved independently several times in Lepidoptera. Limacodidae is a family with worldwide distribution, many of which are venomous in the larval stage, but the composition and mode of action of their venom is unknown. Here, we use imaging technologies, transcriptomics, proteomics, and functional assays to provide a holistic picture of the venom system of a limacodid caterpillar, Doratifera vulnerans . Contrary to dogma that defensive venoms are simple in composition, D. vulnerans produces a complex venom containing 151 proteinaceous toxins spanning 59 families, most of which are peptides 〈 10 kDa. Three of the most abundant families of venom peptides (vulnericins) are 1) analogs of the adipokinetic hormone/corazonin-related neuropeptide, some of which are picomolar agonists of the endogenous insect receptor; 2) linear cationic peptides derived from cecropin, an insect innate immune peptide that kills bacteria and parasites by disrupting cell membranes; and 3) disulfide-rich knottins similar to those that dominate spider venoms. Using venom fractionation and a suite of synthetic venom peptides, we demonstrate that the cecropin-like peptides are responsible for the dominant pain effect observed in mammalian in vitro and in vivo nociception assays and therefore are likely to cause pain after natural envenomations by D. vulnerans . Our data reveal convergent molecular evolution between limacodids, hymenopterans, and arachnids and demonstrate that lepidopteran venoms are an untapped source of novel bioactive peptides.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0027-8424 , 1091-6490
    RVK:
    RVK:
    Language: English
    Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 209104-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1461794-8
    SSG: 11
    SSG: 12
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
  • 3
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ; 2013
    In:  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 110, No. 22 ( 2013-05-28), p. 8906-8911
    In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, No. 22 ( 2013-05-28), p. 8906-8911
    Abstract: We recently reported the isolation of a scorpion toxin named U 1 -liotoxin-Lw1a (U 1 -LITX-Lw1a) that adopts an unusual 3D fold termed the disulfide-directed hairpin (DDH) motif, which is the proposed evolutionary structural precursor of the three-disulfide-containing inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) motif found widely in animals and plants. Here we reveal that U 1 -LITX-Lw1a targets and activates the mammalian ryanodine receptor intracellular calcium release channel (RyR) with high (fM) potency and provides a functional link between DDH and ICK scorpion toxins. Moreover, U 1 -LITX-Lw1a, now described as φ-liotoxin-Lw1a (φ-LITX-Lw1a), has a similar mode of action on RyRs as scorpion calcines, although with significantly greater potency, inducing full channel openings at lower (fM) toxin concentrations whereas at higher pM concentrations increasing the frequency and duration of channel openings to a submaximal state. In addition, we show that the C-terminal residue of φ-LITX-Lw1a is crucial for the increase in full receptor openings but not for the increase in receptor subconductance opening, thereby supporting the two-binding-site hypothesis of scorpion toxins on RyRs. φ-LITX-Lw1a has potential both as a pharmacological tool and as a lead molecule for the treatment of human diseases that involve RyRs, such as malignant hyperthermia and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0027-8424 , 1091-6490
    RVK:
    RVK:
    Language: English
    Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    Publication Date: 2013
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 209104-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1461794-8
    SSG: 11
    SSG: 12
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
  • 4
    In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 117, No. 40 ( 2020-10-06), p. 24920-24928
    Abstract: Australian funnel-web spiders are infamous for causing human fatalities, which are induced by venom peptides known as δ-hexatoxins (δ-HXTXs). Humans and other primates did not feature in the prey or predator spectrum during evolution of these spiders, and consequently the primate lethality of δ-HXTXs remains enigmatic. Funnel-web envenomations are mostly inflicted by male spiders that wander from their burrow in search of females during the mating season, which suggests a role for δ-HXTXs in self-defense since male spiders rarely feed during this period. Although 35 species of Australian funnel-web spiders have been described, only nine δ-HXTXs from four species have been characterized, resulting in a lack of understanding of the ecological roles and molecular evolution of δ-HXTXs. Here, by profiling venom-gland transcriptomes of 10 funnel-web species, we report 22 δ-HXTXs. Phylogenetic and evolutionary assessments reveal a remarkable sequence conservation of δ-HXTXs despite their deep evolutionary origin within funnel-web spiders, consistent with a defensive role. We demonstrate that δ-HXTX-Ar1a, the lethal toxin from the Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus , induces pain in mice by inhibiting inactivation of voltage-gated sodium (Na V ) channels involved in nociceptive signaling. δ-HXTX-Ar1a also inhibited inactivation of cockroach Na V channels and was insecticidal to sheep blowflies. Considering their algogenic effects in mice, potent insecticidal effects, and high levels of sequence conservation, we propose that the δ-HXTXs were repurposed from an initial insecticidal predatory function to a role in defending against nonhuman vertebrate predators by male spiders, with their lethal effects on humans being an unfortunate evolutionary coincidence.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0027-8424 , 1091-6490
    RVK:
    RVK:
    Language: English
    Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    Publication Date: 2020
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 209104-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1461794-8
    SSG: 11
    SSG: 12
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
Close ⊗
This website uses cookies and the analysis tool Matomo. More information can be found here...