Purification and pharmacological characterization of BmKK2 (alpha-KTx 14.2), a novel potassium channel-blocking peptide, from the venom of Asian scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch.

BmKK2 (alpha-KTx 14.2) is one of the novel short-chain peptides found in molecular cloning of a venom gland cDNA library from Asian scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch. Based upon its amino acid sequence, the peptide was proposed to adopt a classical alpha/beta-scaffold for alpha-KTxs. In the present study, we purified BmKK2 from the venom of B. martensi Karsch, and investigated its action on voltage-dependent K+ currents in dissociated hippocampal neurons from neonatal rats. BmKK2 (10-100 microM) selectively inhibited the delayed rectifier K+ current, but did not affect the fast transient K+ current. The inhibition of BmKK2 on the delayed rectifier K+ current was reversible and voltage-independent. The peptide did not affect the steady-state activation of the current, but caused a depolarizing shift (about 9 mV) of its steady-state inactivation curve. The results demonstrate that BmKK2 is a novel K+ channel-blocking scorpion peptide.