Effects of beta-bungarotoxin and phospholipase A2 from Naja naja atra snake venom on ATPase activities of synaptic membranes from rat cerebral cortex.

Non-neurotoxic phospholipase A2 of Formosan cobra venom possessed higher hydrolytic activity on phosphatidylcholine vesicles and also had higher inhibitory action on Na+-K+-ATpase and Mg2+-ATPase of the rat synaptic membrane than neurotoxic beta-bungarotoxin of Formosan Krait Venom. Na+-K+-ATPase was more susceptible than Mg2+-ATPase to the inhibitory action of toxins, especially in the presence of Triton X-100. The inhibition of ATPases by toxins followed the Michaelis-Menton equation. It is interesting that various phospholipids and ions influenced phospholipase A2 and beta-bungarotoxin inhibition of ATPases. Sphingomyelin antagonized phospholipase A4 more profoundly than beta-bungarotoxin, while egg lecithin had the reverse effect. Both phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine protected Na+-K+-ATPase from the inhibitory action of phospholipase A2 but not that of beta-bungarotoxin. High K+ (30 mM) did not affect, while Ca2+ (0.2 mM) decreased, the inhibitory action of phospholipase A2 on Na+-K+-ATPase; in contrast, high K+ reversed, and Ca2+ increased, that of beta-bungarotoxin. These findings imply that phospholipase A2 and beta-bungarotoxin may have different substrate specificities and prefer different conformational states of the membrane for binding. This may explain, at least in part, why beta-bungarotoxin is neurotoxic, while phospholipase A2 is not.