Three-dimensional structure of the RGD-containing neurotoxin homologue dendroaspin

Dendroaspin is a short chain neurotoxin homologue from the venom of Elapidae snakes, which lacks neurotoxicity. Unlike neurotoxins, it contains an Arg-Gly-Asp-(RGD)-motif and functions as an inhibitor of platelet aggregation and platelet adhesion with comparable potency to the disintegrins from the venoms of Viperidae. We have determined the structure of dendroaspin in solution using NMR spectroscopy. The structure contains a core similar to that of short chain neurotoxins, but with a novel arrangement of loops and a solvent-exposed RGD-motif. Dendroaspin is thus an integrin antagonist with a well defined fold different from that of the disintegrins, based on the neurotoxin scaffold.