A Novel Phospholipase A2 Isolated from Palythoa caribaeorum Possesses Neurotoxic Activity

Zoanthids of the genus Palythoa are distributed worldwide in shallow waters around coral reefs. Like all cnidarians, they possess nematocysts that contain a large diversity of toxins that paralyze their prey. This work was aimed at isolating and functionally characterizing a cnidarian neurotoxic phospholipase named A2-PLTX-Pcb1a for the first time. This phospholipase was isolated from the venomous extract of the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum. This enzyme, which is Ca(2+)-dependent, is a 149 amino acid residue protein. The analysis of the A2-PLTX-Pcb1a sequence showed neurotoxic domain similitude with other neurotoxic sPLA(2)´s, but a different catalytic histidine domain. This is remarkable, since A2-PLTX-Pcb1a displays properties like those of other known PLA(2) enzymes.