Peptide toxins with high affinity, divergent pharmacological functions, and isoform-specific selectivity are powerful tools for investigating the structure-function relationships of voltagegated sodium channels (VGSCs). Although a number of interesting inhibitors have been reported from tarantula venoms, little is known about the mechanism for their interaction with VGSCs. We show that huwentoxin-IV (HWTX-IV), a 35-residue peptide from tarantula Ornithoctonus huwena venom, preferentially inhibits neuronal VGSC subtypes rNav1.2, rNav1.3, and hNav1.7 compared with muscle subtypes rNav1.4 and hNav1.5. Of the five VGSCs examined, hNav1.7 was most sensitive to HWTX-IV (IC 50 ϳ 26 nM). Following application of 1 M HWTX-IV, hNav1.7 currents could only be elicited with extreme depolarizations (>؉100 mV). Recovery of hNav1.7 channels from HWTX-IV inhibition could be induced by extreme depolarizations or moderate depolarizations lasting several minutes. Site-directed mutagenesis analysis indicated that the toxin docked at neurotoxin receptor site 4 located at the extracellular S3-S4 linker of domain II. Mutations E818Q and D816N in hNav1.7 decreased toxin affinity for hNav1.7 by ϳ300-fold, whereas the reverse mutations in rNav1.4 (N655D/ Q657E) and the corresponding mutations in hNav1.5 (R812D/ S814E) greatly increased the sensitivity of the muscle VGSCs to HWTX-IV. Our data identify a novel mechanism for sodium channel inhibition by tarantula toxins involving binding to neurotoxin receptor site 4. In contrast to scorpion ␤-toxins that trap the IIS4 voltage sensor in an outward configuration, we propose that HWTX-IV traps the voltage sensor of domain II in the inward, closed configuration.

The voltage-gated sodium channel Na v

Background: Post-translational modifications of CRMP2 protein direct its regulation of effector proteins. Results: Destruction of a CRMP2 SUMOylation site reduces surface expression and current density of sodium channel NaV1.7. Conclusion: CRMP2 SUMOylation choreographs NaV1.7, but not NaV1.1 or NaV1.3, trafficking. Significance: Learning how neuronal NaV1.7 trafficking is modulated by CRMP2 is important for understanding the mechanism of action of NaV-targeted anti-epileptic and anti-nociceptive drugs.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, possess the unique ability to readily differentiate into any cell type of the body, including cells of the retina. Although previous studies have demonstrated the ability to differentiate hPSCs to a retinal lineage, the ability to derive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) from hPSCs has been complicated by the lack of specific markers with which to identify these cells from a pluripotent source. In the current study, the definitive identification of hPSC-derived RGCs was accomplished by their directed, stepwise differentiation through an enriched retinal progenitor intermediary, with resultant RGCs expressing a full complement of associated features and proper functional characteristics. These results served as the basis for the establishment of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a patient with a genetically inherited form of glaucoma, which results in damage and loss of RGCs. Patient-derived RGCs specifically exhibited a dramatic increase in apoptosis, similar to the targeted loss of RGCs in glaucoma, which was significantly rescued by the addition of candidate neuroprotective factors. Thus, the current study serves to establish a method by which to definitively acquire and identify RGCs from hPSCs and demonstrates the ability of hPSCs to serve as an effective in vitro model of disease progression. Moreover, iPSC-derived RGCs can be utilized for future drug screening approaches to identify targets for the treatment of glaucoma and other optic neuropathies.