Structure-function studies on Taiwan cobra long neurotoxin homolog

A novel long neurotoxin homolog was purified from Naja naja atra (Taiwan cobra) venom using the combination of ion exchange chromatography and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The determined protein sequence was essentially the same as that deduced from the cDNA amplified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The long neurotoxin homolog exhibited an activity that inhibited acetylcholine-induced muscle contractions, as with N. naja atra cobrotoxin. The degree of inhibition caused by the addition of long neurotoxin homolog was approximately 70% of that observed with the addition of cobrotoxin. Unlike the well-known short and long neurotoxins, this neurotoxin homolog contained two additional cysteine residues forming a disulfide linkage in the N-terminal region. Circular dichroism measurement and computer models of the neurotoxin reveal that its secondary structure was not abundant in beta-sheet as noted with short and long neurotoxins. This less ordered structure may be associated with the lower activity noted with the long neurotoxin homolog. Together with the finding that the known long neurotoxin homologs exclusively appear in the venoms of the Naja and Bungarus genera, the long neurotoxin homologs should represent an evolutionary branch from the long and short neurotoxins in the Elapidae family.