Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

NMR solution structure of butantoxin.

S K Holaday1, B M Martin, P L Fletcher

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294-2041, USA.

Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
|June 23, 2000
PubMed
Summary

The NMR structure of butantoxin (BuTX), a scorpion toxin, reveals its unique disulfide bridge and secondary structure. BuTX blocks potassium channels and inhibits T-cell proliferation, offering insights into toxin function.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Ross River virus transmission, infection, and disease: two and a half decades of research progress-an updated cross-disciplinary review.

Clinical microbiology reviews·2026
Same author

Early barriers to neonatal porcine islet engraftment in a dual transplant model.

American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons·2017
Same author

Age of first exposure to American football and long-term neuropsychiatric and cognitive outcomes.

Translational psychiatry·2017
Same author

Dual islet transplantation modeling of the instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction.

American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons·2015
Same author

Diagnostic specificity of a real-time RT-PCR in cattle for foot-and-mouth disease and swine for foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever based on non-invasive specimen collection.

Veterinary microbiology·2008
Same author

Primary local orbital amyloidosis: biochemical identification of the immunoglobulin light chain kappaIII subtype in a small formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissue sample.

Journal of clinical pathology·2005

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Structural Biology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Butantoxin (BuTX) is a toxin found in Brazilian scorpion venoms.
  • Scorpion toxins are known for their diverse biological activities and structural motifs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the three-dimensional NMR structure of butantoxin (BuTX).
  • To investigate the functional properties of BuTX, including its effects on potassium channels and T-cells.

Main Methods:

  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, including NOESY and PH-COSY.
  • Amide hydrogen exchange for constraint generation.
  • Molecular modeling using distance geometry and simulated annealing.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • The NMR structure revealed BuTX is a 40 amino acid protein with four disulfide bridges, one unique to BuTX (Cys2-Cys5).
  • BuTX exhibits a secondary structure comprising an alpha-helix and a beta-sheet.
  • The toxin reversibly blocks Shaker B potassium channels and inhibits T-cell proliferation and interleukin-2 production.

    • Conclusions:

    • The unique N-terminal disulfide bridge (Cys2-Cys5) does not appear to stabilize BuTX.
    • BuTX's structure and function provide insights into the diversity of scorpion toxins and their interactions with biological targets.