Study of Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Activity of Scorpion Toxins DKK-SP1/2 from Scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK)

Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK), is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for a long history for the treatment of many diseases, such as inflammation, pain and cancer. In this study, DKK-SP1/2/3 genes were screened and extracted from the cDNA library of BmK. The DKK-SP1/2/3 were expressed by using plasmid pSYPU-1b in E. coli BL21, and recombinant proteins were obtained by column chromatography. In the xylene-induced mouse ear swelling and carrageenan-induced rat paw swelling model, DKK-SP1 exerted a significant anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the expression of Nav1.8 channel. Meanwhile, the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (COX-2, IL-6) was decreased significantly and the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) were elevated significantly. Moreover, DKK-SP1 could significantly decrease the Nav1.8 current in acutely isolated rat DRG neurons. In the acetic acid-writhing and ION-CCI model, DKK-SP2 displayed significant analgesic activity by inhibiting the expression of the Nav1.7 channel. Moreover, DKK-SP2 could significantly inhibit the Nav1.7 current in the hNav1.7-CHO cells.