A monovalent antivenom was produced by immunizing two horses with venom of the pit viper Bothrops asper (Ophidia: Viperidae). Although development of the immune response against four toxic and enzymatic activities of the venom was similar in both horses during the first two thirds of the immunization schedule, antibody response in one of the horses reached much higher levels in the last part of...

During the generation of abundant expressed sequence tags from the Viperidae snake Bothrops insularis venom glands, we identified for the first time a cDNA coding for a putative vascular endothelial growth factor-like (VEGF-like) protein. The deduced primary sequence, after complete sequencing of the longest snake venom VEGF (svVEGF) cDNA, displayed similarity with vertebrate VEGFs and with the...

Snake venoms contain a complex mixture of proteins and biologically active peptides [1, 2]. Some of these bioactive peptides are derived from precursor proteins that through proteo‐ lytic processing generate mature active polypeptides [3]. As an example, the protein precur‐ sor of natriuretic peptide type-C (CNP) from the Brazilian pit viper Bothrops jararaca venom and brain originates CNP, a h...

Tropidolaemus wagleri and Cryptelytrops purpureomaculatus are venomous pit viper species commonly found in Malaysia. Tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the crude venoms has detected different proteins in T. wagleri and C. purpureomaculatus. They were classified into 13 venom protein families consisting of enzymatic and nonenzymatic proteins. Enzymatic families detected in T. wagleri and C. pu...

The processes that drive the evolution of snake venom variability, particularly the role of diet, have been a topic of intense recent research interest. Here, we test whether extensive variation in venom composition in the medically important viper genus Echis is associated with shifts in diet. Examination of stomach and hindgut contents revealed extreme variation between the major clades of Ec...

Snakebite envenomations cause severe local tissue necrosis and the venom metalloproteinases are thought to be the key toxins involved. In this study, the ethanolic extract from seed kernels of Thai mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. 'Fahlun') (Anacardiaceae) and its major phenolic principle (pentagalloylglucopyranose) exhibited potent and dose-dependent inhibitory effects on the caseinolytic and fi...

When aggregated micelles of phospholipids are hydrolysed by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in an aqueous dispersion, scattering from the solution is decreased. Hydrolysis of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine by PLA2 from Russell’s viper venom has been investigated using a spectrofluorimeter at 650 nm. The rate of decrease in scattering was linearly dependent with venom concentration, while the initial l...

Sixty-two snake venoms were screened to identify those which specifically inhibit the adhesive protein binding function of the glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa complex, the receptor-mediating platelet aggregation. Although 52 of these venoms inhibited GPIIb-IIIa, only one of these, from the southeastern pigmy rattlesnake, Sistrurus m. barbouri, was specific for GPIIb-IIIa versus other integrins. The ...

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) play key biological roles in prey immobilization and digestion. The majority of these activities depend on the hydrolysis of relevant protein substrates in the tissues. Hereby, we describe several isoforms and a cDNA clone sequence, corresponding to PII SVMP homologues from the venom of the Central American pit viper Bothriechis lateralis, which have modif...