Unveiling Tst3, a Multi-Target Gating Modifier Scorpion α Toxin from <i>Tityus stigmurus</i> Venom of Northeast Brazil: Evaluation and Comparison with Well-Studied Ts3 Toxin of <i>Tityus serrulatus</i>.

ABSTRACT: Studies on the interaction sites of peptide toxins and ion channels typically involve site-directed mutations in toxins. However, natural mutant toxins exist among them, offering insights into how the evolutionary process has conserved crucial sequences for activities and molecular target selection. In this study, we present a comparative investigation using electrophysiological approaches and computational analysis between two alpha toxins from evolutionarily close scorpion species of the genus Tityus, namely, Tst3 and Ts3 from T. stigmurus and T. serrulatus, respectively. These toxins exhibit three natural substitutions near the C-terminal region, which is directly involved in the interaction between alpha toxins and Nav channels. Additionally, we characterized the a

SUBMITTER: Tibery DV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11209618 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature