Structure-Activity Relationships and Immunochemical Studies on Cobrotoxin

Abstract

The status of free amino groups in cobrotoxin was studied by stepwise modification with trinitrobenzene sulfonate. Lys-27 was selectively modified without altering the activity of cobrotoxin. However, complete loss of the activity was observed when Lys-27 and Lys-47 were trinitrophenylated, suggesting that the epsilon-amino group of Lys-47 is essential for the activity of cobrotoxin. The alpha-amino group of N-terminal leucine had not any correlation with activity was demonstrated by guanidination of the lysine residues with O- methylisourea followed by trinitrophenylation of the alpha-amino group. The carboxyl groups in cobrotoxin were modified with glycine methyl ester after activation with water-soluble carbodiimide. Six out of seven free carboxyls reacted in the absence of guanidine-HCl without altering the biological activity. When the remaining carboxyl was modified in the presence of 5 M guanidine-HCl, the resulting toxin was devoid of activity. This 'buried' carboxyl is essential for activity and was identified as the gamma-carboxyl group of Glu-21.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1971
Accession Number
AD0732480

Entities

People

  • Chen-chung Yang

Organizations

  • Kaohsiung Medical University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acetic Acid
  • Alcohols
  • Amines
  • Amino Acids
  • Antibodies
  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry
  • Esters
  • Immune Serums
  • Lethality
  • Materials
  • Molecules
  • Proteins
  • Sequences
  • Sulfonates
  • Terminals
  • Tryptophan

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Computer science

Readers

  • Marine Mammal Biology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Organic Chemistry