Comparison of the biological activities in venoms from three subspecies of the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus terrificus,C. durissus cascavella and C. durissus collilineatus)

The subspecies of the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus, are classified according to their external morphological features and geographical distribution. We have determined some biological activities of C. durissus cascavella, C. durissus collilineatus and C. durissus terrificus venoms. C. durissus terrificus had a significantly higher clotting activity on bovine plasma and fibrinogen, human fibrinogen and rabbit plasma. C. durissus cascavella presented a statistically higher phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) activity in regard to C. durissus collilineatus. Their myotoxic and proteolytic activity, median lethal doses, or median platelet aggregating doses (on rabbit and human platelets) could not differentiate the three subspecies examined. However, the electrophoretic profile and the dose–response curve for edematogenic activity for C.d. cascavella venom were different from the others. With regard to the inorganic element content of the venoms, higher levels of Br, Cl and Mg, and a lower level of Zn, were found in C.d. cascavella venom. Crotamine-like activity could not be detected in C.d. cascavella venom. Furthermore, equine antivenom specific for C. durissus terrificus venom cross-reacted equally with the antigens of the three venom pools by ELISA and Western blotting. These results indicate that the venoms from the three studied subspecies of C. durissus were very similar, except for minor differences in paw edema-inducing activity, electrophoretic profile, phospholipase A₂ activity, crotamine-like activity and inorganic element contents of C.d. cascavella venom.