Crystal structure of a phospholipase A2 homolog complexed with p-bromophenacyl bromide reveals important structural changes associated with the inhibition of myotoxic activity

For the first time, the structure of a catalytic inactive phospholipase A2 homolog (Lys49-PLA2s) complexed with p-bromophenacyl bromide (BPB) has been solved by X-ray crystallography. Lys49-PLA2s are among the main components of Viperidae snake venoms, causing myonecrosis and other actions despite their catalytic inactivity. BPB, a classic inhibitor of catalytic-active PLA2s, has been used since the 1970s because it binds specifically the His48 residue of the catalytic site. Curiously, when Lys49-PLA2 is chemically modified by BPB, it causes a partial inhibition of the myotoxic function which is associated with the C-terminus and not with the catalytic site. The structure of PrTX-I complexed to BPB revealed unambiguously that the inhibitor binds covalently to His48, causing a distortion of the Ca2+-binding loop region and C-terminus rearrangement in one of its monomers. The comparison between the apo and BPB-complexed PrTX-I structures showed an increased symmetry between the two monomers with the formation of an interchain hydrogen bond between Tyr119 residues. PrTX-I undergoes tertiary and quaternary structural changes when complexed to BPB which could be related to reduction of myotoxicity and other toxic activities. We also proposed a novel myotoxic inhibition hypothesis integrating “myotoxic” and “active” sites for bothropic Lys49-PLA2s.