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Jacobsson E, Andersson HS, Strand M, Peigneur S, Eriksson C, Lodén H, Shariatgorji M, Andrén PE, Lebbe EKM, Rosengren KJ, Tytgat J, Göransson U
Sci Rep 8 (1) 4596 [2018-03-22; online 2018-03-22]
Polypeptides from animal venoms have found important uses as drugs, pharmacological tools, and within biotechnological and agricultural applications. We here report a novel family of cystine knot peptides from nemertean worms, with potent activity on voltage-gated sodium channels. These toxins, named the α-nemertides, were discovered in the epidermal mucus of Lineus longissimus, the 'bootlace worm' known as the longest animal on earth. The most abundant peptide, the 31-residue long α-1, was isolated, synthesized, and its 3D NMR structure determined. Transcriptome analysis including 17 species revealed eight α-nemertides, mainly distributed in the genus Lineus. α-1 caused paralysis and death in green crabs (Carcinus maenas) at 1 µg/kg (~300 pmol/kg). It showed profound effect on invertebrate voltage-gated sodium channels (e.g. Blattella germanica Nav1) at low nanomolar concentrations. Strong selectivity for insect over human sodium channels indicates that α-nemertides can be promising candidates for development of bioinsecticidal agents.
Spatial Mass Spectrometry [Collaborative]
PubMed 29567943
DOI 10.1038/s41598-018-22305-w
Crossref 10.1038/s41598-018-22305-w
pii: 10.1038/s41598-018-22305-w
pmc: PMC5864730