El Fessi Rym

Dr. El Fessi Rym


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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26 October 2022 in Molecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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EREl Fessi Rym
El Fessi Rym
Oussema KhamessiOussema Khamessi
Oussema Khamessi
NSNajet Srairi-Abid
Najet Srairi-Abid
Jean-Marc SabatierJean-Marc Sabatier
Jean-Marc Sabatier
JTJan Tytgat
Jan Tytgat
RKRIADH KHARRAT
RIADH KHARRAT
Scorpion venom is a rich source of promising therapeutic compounds, such as highly selective ion channel ligands with potent pharmacological effects. Bot33 is a new short polypeptide of 38 amino acid residues with six cysteines purified from the venom of the Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion. Bot33 has revealed less than 40% identity with other known alpha-KTx families. This peptide displayed a neutral amino acid (Leucine), in the position equivalent to lysine 27, described as essential for the interaction with Kv channels. Bot33 did not show any toxicity following i.c.v. injection until 2 µg/kg mouse body weight. Due to its very low venom concentration (0.24%), Bot33 was chemically synthesized. Unexpectedly, this peptide has been subjected to a screening on ion channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and it was found that Bot33 has no effect on seven Kv channel subtypes. Interestingly, an in silico molecular docking study shows that the Leu27 prevents the interaction of Bot33 with the Kv1.3 channel. All our results indicate that Bot33 may have a different mode of action from other scorpion toxins, which will be interesting to elucidate.