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Bilayer-dependent inhibition of mechanosensitive channels by neuroactive peptide enantiomers

Nature volume 430, pages 235–240 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The peptide GsMTx4, isolated from the venom of the tarantula Grammostola spatulata, is a selective inhibitor of stretch-activated cation channels (SACs)1. The mechanism of inhibition remains unknown; but both GsMTx4 and its enantiomer, enGsMTx4, modify the gating of SACs, thus violating a trademark of the traditional lock-and-key model of ligand–protein interactions. Suspecting a bilayer-dependent mechanism, we examined the effect of GsMTx4 and enGsMTx4 on gramicidin A (gA) channel gating2. Both peptides are active, and the effect increases with the degree of hydrophobic mismatch between bilayer thickness and channel length, meaning that GsMTx4 decreases the energy required to deform the boundary lipids adjacent to the channel. GsMTx4 decreases inward SAC single-channel currents but has no effect on outward currents, suggesting it is located within a Debye length of the outer vestibule of the SACs, but significantly farther from the inner vestibule. Likewise, GsMTx4 decreases gA single-channel currents. Our results suggest that modulation of membrane proteins by amphipathic peptides—mechanopharmacology—involves not only the protein itself but also the surrounding lipids. The surprising efficacy of the d form of GsMTx4 peptide has important therapeutic implications, because d peptides are not hydrolysed by endogenous proteases and may be administered orally.

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Figure 1: GsMTx4 and its possible bilayer-modifying effects.
Figure 2: GsMTx4 increases the pipette pressure (membrane tension) required for activation and is adjacent to the channel.
Figure 3: GsMTx4 and enGsMTx4 both inhibit SACs.
Figure 4: Effect of GsMTx4 on gA channels.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank J. Niggel (SUNY) and A. Ladokhin (UC Irvine) for the fluorescence data, and M. Teeling for the tissue culture. This work is supported by NIH grants to O.S.A. and F.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, 14214, USA

    Thomas M. Suchyna, Frederick Sachs & Philip A. Gottlieb

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Sonya E. Tape & Olaf S. Andersen

  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 72701, USA

    Roger E. Koeppe II

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  1. Thomas M. Suchyna
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Correspondence to Olaf S. Andersen.

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Suchyna, T., Tape, S., Koeppe, R. et al. Bilayer-dependent inhibition of mechanosensitive channels by neuroactive peptide enantiomers. Nature 430, 235–240 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02743

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