Sarafotoxin S6c is a relatively weak displacer of specifically bound 125I-endothelin

Sarafotoxin S6a, S6b and S6c are chemically related vasoconstrictor polypeptides obtained from the venom of the snake, Atractaspis engaddensis. Each contains twenty one amino acid residues, two intrachain cysteine linkages and a long hydrophobic tail. Structurally these polypeptides resemble endothelin. Binding studies with 125I-endothelin showed that 125I-endothelin bound to rat ventricular membranes is totally displaceable by sarafotoxin S6b and endothelin, with IC50 values of 0.21 and 0.16 nM, respectively. Sarafotoxin S6c, which differs from sarafotoxin S6b in containing threonine instead of serine at residue 2, arginine instead of lysine at residue 4, and glutamic acid instead of lysine at residue 9, only weakly displaced bound 125I-endothelin (IC50, 854 nM). These results indicate that the ability of the sarafotoxins to interact with the endothelin binding site is not solely dependent on the long hydrophobic tail or the cysteine linkages.