A comparative study of the biological properties of some sea snake venoms.

1. The protease, phosphodiesterase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, L-amino acid oxidase, acetylcholinesterase, phospholipase A, 5'-nucleotidase, hyaluronidase, arginine ester hydrolase, procoagulant, anticoagulant and hemorrhagic activities of ten samples of venoms from seven taxa of sea snakes were examined. 2. The results show that venoms of sea snakes of both subfamilies of Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae are characterized by a very low level of enzymatic activities, except phospholipase A activity and, for some species, hyaluronidase activity. 3. Because of the low levels of enzymatic activities and the total lack of procoagulant and hemorrhagic activities, venom biological properties are not useful for the differentiation of species of sea snakes. Nevertheless, the unusually low levels of enzymatic activities of sea snake venoms may be used to distinguish sea snake venoms from other elapid or viperid venoms.     

A comparative study of the biological properties of Dendroaspis (mamba) snake venoms.

1. The biological properties of twelve samples of venoms from all four species of Dendroaspis (mamba) were investigated. 2. Dendroaspis venoms generally exhibited very low levels of protease, phosphodiesterase and alkaline phosphomonoesterase; low to moderately low level of 5'-nucleotidase and very high hyaluronidase activities, but were devoid of L-amino acid oxidase, phospholipase A, acetylcholinesterase and arginine ester hydrolase activities. The unusual feature in venom enzyme content can be used to distinguish Dendroaspis venoms from other snake venoms. 3. All Dendroaspis venoms did not exhibit hemorrhagic or procoagulant activity. Some Dendroaspis venoms, however, exhibited strong anticoagulant activity. The intravenous median lethal dose of the venoms ranged from 0.5 microgram/g mouse to 4.2 micrograms/g mouse. 4. Venom biological activities are not very useful for the differentiation of the Dendroaspis species. The four Dendroaspis venoms, however, can be differentiated by their venom SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic patterns.     

A comparative study on the biological properties of venoms from juvenile and adult common tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) venoms

• 1.1. The biological properties of venoms from juvenile and adult common tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) were compared.
• 2.2. The lethality, procoagulant activity and enzymatic activities of the juvenile venom were not substantially different from those of the adult venom.
• 3.3. Electrophoretic studies, however, indicated some minor differences in the protein composition of the juvenile and adult venoms.

     

Comparative study of the edema-inducing activity of snake venoms

1. The edema-inducing activity of 24 venoms from snakes of the subfamilies of Elapinae, Hydrophiini, Crotalinae and Viperinae was determined. 2. All snake venoms tested are very potent edema inducers. The minimum edema doses of the venoms ranged from 0.16 to 3.41 micrograms per mouse paw. 3. The venoms induced a rapid onset edema which peaked within 1 h of injection and declined thereafter; at low dose, however, some venoms induced a rapid onset edema that sustained over a longer duration.     

Enzymes of snake venoms

Snakes' venom is a mixture of biologically active substances, containing proteins and peptides. A number of these proteins interact with haemostasis system components. Activators and inhibitors affecting blood coagulation and fibrinolysis systems are of special interest. Venom components can be classified into three main groups, such as procoagulants, anticoagulants and fibrinolytic enzymes according to their action. This review is focused on enzymes from Agkistrodon halys halys venom. They are thrombine-like enzyme, named Ancystron-H, flbrinogenolytic enzyme, protein C activator and platelet aggregation inhibitor. Ancystron-H is used for determination of fibrinogen level in blood plasma of patients undergoing heparin treatment and blood coagulation inhibitors accumulation. The fibrinogenolytic enzyme can be used as the instrument for protein-protein interactions in fibrinogen-fibrin system. The protein C activator is used for protein C level determination in blood plasma with different pathologies. Functions of the platelet aggregation inhibitor, belonging to disintegrins group, can be used for development of antithrombotic preparations. Information about the use of snake venoms in science and medicine is presented.     

Prey specificity, comparative lethality and compositional differences of coral snake venoms

Toxicities of crude venoms from 49 coral snake (Micrurus sp.) populations, representing 15 nominal taxa, were examined in both laboratory mice and in native prey animals and compared with data gathered from two non-micrurine elapids and a crotalid, which served as outgroups. These venoms were further compared on the basis of 23 enzymatic activities. Both toxicities and enzymatic activities were analyzed with respect to natural prey preferences, as determined from stomach content analyses and literature reports. Venoms of nearly all Micrurus for which prey preferences are known, are more toxic to natural prey than to non-prey species. Except for amphisbaenians, prey are more susceptible to venoms of Micrurus that feed upon them, than to venoms of those that eat other organisms. All venoms were more toxic i.v.>i.p.>i.m. Route-specific differences in toxicity are generally greatest for preferred prey species. Cluster analyses of venom enzymatic activities resulted in five clusters, with the fish-eating M. surinamensis more distant from other Micrurus than even the crotalid, Bothrops moojeni. Ophiophagous and amphisbaenian-eating Micrurus formed two close subclusters, one allied to the outgroup species Naja naja and the other to the fossorial, ophiophagous Bungarus multicinctus. Prey preference is shown to be the most important determinant of venom composition in Micrurus.     

Catalase enzymatic activity and electrophoretic patterns in adult amphibians--a comparative study

Catalase electrophoretic patterns and enzymatic activities were measured in four organs of two anuran species, Rana ridibunda perezii and Discoglossus pictus. The D. pictus enzyme appeared as two distinguishable bands, whereas R. ridibunda catalase was monomorphic. Electrophoretic mobility of the major D. pictus catalase band was greater than that of R. ridibunda. Enzymes from both species showed slower mobility than that from bovine liver. Catalase activities did not show significant differences according to sex in any of the organs tested in R. ridibunda. Enzyme activities were similar in liver, kidney and brain when both species were compared. Only the heart showed much higher activity in D. pictus than in R. ridibunda. The catalase activity levels followed the order: liver greater than kidney greater than heart in both species. The heart showed higher activity than the brain in D. pictus but not in R. ridibunda.     

Electrophoretic analysis of snake venoms

Electrophoretic analyses were conducted on snake venoms from 21 species representing Elapidae, Crotalidae and Viperidae. Denatured and native venoms were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic (PAGE) methods with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and without SDS. Both SDS-PAGE and PAGE profiles of venoms from different snake species indicate that some proteins and polypeptide components of these venoms have common electrophoretic characteristics suggesting a genetic relationship. Conversely, the electropherograms also showed the characteristic protein and polypeptide profiles that could differentiate one snake species from another. Therefore, both SDS-PAGE and PAGE profiles suggest that proteins and polypeptides with similar characteristics abound among subspecies or related species, although each venom has a unique profile that differentiates one species from the other.     

A comparative study of the biological properties of Australian elapid venoms

1. The hemorrhagic, procoagulant, anticoagulant, protease, phosphodiesterase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, L-amino acid oxidase, acetylcholinesterase, arginine ester hydrolase, phospholipase A, 5'-nucleotidase and hyaluronidase activities of 39 samples of venoms from 13 species (15 taxa) of Australian elapids were determined and the Sephadex G-75 gel filtration patterns for some of the venoms were also examined. 2. The results indicate that Australian elapid venoms can be divided into two groups: procoagulant Australian venoms (including N. scutatus, N. ater, O. scutellatus, O. microlepidotus, P. porphyriacus, T. carinatus, H. stephensii and P. textilis) and non-procoagulant Australian venoms (including A. superbus, P. colletti, P. australis, P. guttatus and A. antarcticus). 3. The non-procoagulant Australian venoms exhibited biological properties similar to other elapid venoms, while the procoagulant Australian venoms exhibited some properties characteristic of viperid venoms. 4. The data show that information on venom biological properties can be used for differentiation of many species of Australian elapids. 5. Particularly useful for this purpose are the hyaluronidase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, acetylcholinesterase, and the procoagulant activities and the Sephadex G-75 gel filtration patterns of the venoms.     

蛇毒类激肽释放酶的研究进展

蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶是蛇毒中一类丰富的蛋白水解酶,具有重要的临床应用价值。其中一种丝氨酸蛋白酶一类激肽释放酶,作用于激肽原释放激肽,引起血管舒张,改善微循环,从而逐渐受到关注。对蛇毒中类激肽释放酶的分布、分离制备、生化性质、结构研究和药效研究等方面进行了综述,同时指出了目前存在的问题及今后的发展方向,以期为进一步的基础研究提供理论基础。