Inhibition of neuronal high voltage-activated calcium channels by insect peptides: a comparison with the actions of omega-conotoxin GVIA.

The whole cell variant of the patch clamp technique was used to investigate the actions of two novel insect peptides on high voltage-activated Ca2+ currents in cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones. The insect peptides (PMP-D2 and PMP-C) were isolated originally from insect brains and fat bodies, and have been found to have similar three-dimensional structures to the N-type Ca2+ channel inhibitor omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CgTx GVIA). High voltage-activated Ca2+ currents were activated from a holding potential of -90 mV by depolarizing step commands to 0 mV.

Solution structure of PMP-C: a new fold in the group of small serine proteinase inhibitors.

The solution structure and the disulfide pairings of a 36-residue proteinase inhibitor isolated from the insect Locusta migratoria have been determined using NMR spectroscopy and simulated annealing calculations. The peptide, termed PMP-C, was previously shown to inhibit bovine alpha-chymotrypsin as well as human leukocyte elastase, and was also found to block high-voltage-activated Ca2+ currents in rat sensory neurones. PMP-C has a prolate ellipsoid shape and adopts a tertiary fold hitherto unobserved in the large group of small "canonical" proteinase inhibitors.

Stabilization of proteins by glycosylation examined by NMR analysis of a fucosylated proteinase inhibitor.

Here we investigate the effects of the naturally occurring threonine-linked L-fucose moiety on the structure, dynamics and stability of the proteinase inhibitor PMP-C (Pars intercerebralis major peptide C). The three-dimensional structure of PMP-C fucosylated on Thr 9 has been determined by NMR spectroscopy and simulated annealing. The fucose ring is very well ordered, held in place by hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions with Thr 16 and Arg 18.

Regioselective formation of the three disulfide bonds of a 35-residue insect peptide.

PMP-D2, a 35-residue peptide containing three disulfide bonds, was synthesized on solid-phase using 9-fluorenylmethoxy-carbonyl (Fmoc) as alpha-NH2 protection and simultaneous air oxidation of the six cysteines for formation of its disulfide bonds. The overall yield was 13%. As very little research has been done on the regioselective formation of three disulfide bonds, we decided to investigate different strategies using either trityl (Trt), acetamidomethyl (Acm) and methoxybenzyl (Mob), or methoxytrityl (Mmt), trityl and acetamidomethyl, as cysteine-protecting groups and Fmoc as alpha-NH2 protection.

Serine protease inhibition by insect peptides containing a cysteine knot and a triple-stranded beta-sheet.

Three insect peptides showing high sequence similarity and belonging to the same structural family incorporating a cysteine knot and a short three-stranded antiparalled beta-sheet were studied. Their inhibitory effect on two serine proteases (bovine alpha-chymotrypsin and human leukocyte elastase) is reported. One of them, PMP-C, is a strong alpha-chymotrypsin inhibitor (Ki = 0.