Isolation and Characterization of a Novel ?-Conotoxin from the Venom of Vermivorous Cone Snail Conus parvatus

Abstract

In this paper, the isolation, characterization and total synthesis   of a small peptide ligand for nicotinic acetylcholine   receptors (nAChRs) are reported, which targets the neuromuscular   nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with high affinity   in frog. The new peptide is α-conotoxin obtained from the   snail Conus parvatus which preys on polychaete worms. The   sequence of the peptide is: Gly-Cys-Cys-His-Pro-Arg-Cys-   Gly-lys-Arg-Tyr-Asp-Cys-NH₂. The peptide shows slight   homologous sequence difference from all α-conotoxins of   fish-hunting Conus, but its disulfide-bridging is similar: [2-7;   3-13], It is suggested that cone venoms may provide an array   of ligands with selectivity for various nAChR subtypes.