Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 32: Computational Biophysics II
BP 32.6: Talk
Friday, March 21, 2025, 10:45–11:00, H46
Membrane insertion and channel formation of alpha-latrotoxins — •Andreas Heuer1, Azadeh Alavizargar1, Björn U. Klink2,3, and Cristos Gatsogiannis2,3 — 1Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Münster, Germany — 2Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN), University of Münster — 3Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics
Latrotoxins are the main toxic component of the venom of black widow spiders. It is known that the they provide ion channels in the plasma membrane, allowing, e.g., for a strong influx of Ca2+ ions which may induce a burst of neurotransmitters. Despite its importance, microscopic information about the microscopic structure of latroxin pore formation remained elusive.
In this presentation it is shown how detailed information can be gained by a combination of cryoEM, AlphaFold and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations [1]. From this analysis we can identify a unique mechanism of membrane insertion and channel formation for the example of Na+ and Ca2+ transport. From the MD simulations it is possible, e.g., to elucidate the efficiency and the time-scales of the transport processes and to show why the channel is efficient in transporting mono- and divalent ions but not trivalent ions.
[1] Klink, B.U., Alavizargar, A., Kalyankumar KS, Chen M, Heuer A, Gatsogiannis C (2024) Nature Communications 15, 8551
Keywords: neutrotoxins; MD simulation; ion channel; membrane insertion; AlphaFold