Structures of human Na1.7 channel in complex with auxiliary subunits and animal toxins. Author Huaizong Shen, Dongliang Liu, Kun Wu, Jianlin Lei, Nieng Yan Publication Year 2019 Type Journal Article Abstract Voltage-gated sodium channel Na1.7 represents a promising target for pain relief. Here we report the cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human Na1.7-β1-β2 complex bound to two combinations of pore blockers and gating modifier toxins (GMTs), tetrodotoxin with protoxin-II and saxitoxin with huwentoxin-IV, both determined at overall resolutions of 3.2 angstroms. The two structures are nearly identical except for minor shifts of voltage-sensing domain II (VSD), whose S3-S4 linker accommodates the two GMTs in a similar manner. One additional protoxin-II sits on top of the S3-S4 linker in VSD The structures may represent an inactivated state with all four VSDs "up" and the intracellular gate closed. The structures illuminate the path toward mechanistic understanding of the function and disease of Na1.7 and establish the foundation for structure-aided development of analgesics. Keywords Animals, Humans, Binding Sites, Protein Conformation, Amino Acid Sequence, HEK293 Cells, Cryoelectron Microscopy, Peptides, NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel, Saxitoxin, Spider Venoms, Tetrodotoxin, Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers, Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel beta-2 Subunit, Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel beta-1 Subunit Journal Science Volume 363 Issue 6433 Pages 1303-1308 Date Published 2019 Mar 22 ISSN Number 1095-9203 DOI 10.1126/science.aaw2493 Alternate Journal Science PMID 30765606 PubMedGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML