Chlorotoxin binds to both matrix metalloproteinase 2 and neuropilin 1

Chlorotoxin (CTX), a scorpion venom–derived 36-residue miniprotein, binds to and is taken up selectively by glioblastoma cells. Previous studies provided controversial results concerning target protein(s) of CTX. These included CLC3 chloride channel, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), regulators of MMP-2, annexin A2, and neuropilin 1 (NRP1). The present study aimed at clarifying which of the proposed binding partners can really interact with CTX using biochemical methods and recombinant proteins. For this purpose, we established two new binding assays based on anchoring the tested proteins to microbeads and quantifying the binding of CTX by flow cytometry. Screening of His-tagged proteins anchored to cobalt-coated beads indicated strong interaction of CTX with MMP-2 and NRP1, whereas binding to annexin A2 was not confirmed. Similar results were obtained with fluorophore-labeled CTX and CTX-displaying phages. Affinity of CTX to MMP-2 and NRP1 was assessed by the “immunoglobulin-coated bead” test, in which the proteins were anchored to beads by specific antibodies. This assay yielded highly reproducible data using both direct titration and displacement approach. The affinities of labeled and unlabeled CTX appeared to be similar for both MMP-2 and NRP1 with estimated K(D) values of 0.5 to 0.7 μM. Contrary to previous reports, we found that CTX does not inhibit the activity of MMP-2 and that CTX not only with free carboxyl end but also with carboxamide terminal end binds to NRP1. We conclude that the presented robust assays could also be applied for affinity-improving studies of CTX to its genuine targets using phage display libraries.