Snake venoms are complex mixtures of small molecules, peptides and proteins. Most of the biologically active toxins are peptides or enzymes. The peptides belong to several structural classes, and they have many different biological actions. The best characterised are the so-called three-finger toxins that have three peptide loops stabilised by four disulphide bridges. Despite their common 3D sh...

The solution structure of mamba intestinal toxin 1 (MIT1), isolated from Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis venom, has been determined. This molecule is a cysteine-rich polypeptide exhibiting no recognised family membership. Resistance to MIT1 to classical specific endoproteases produced contradictory NMR and biochemical information concerning disulphide-bridge topology. We have used distance rest...

Mambas (genus Dendroaspis) are among the most feared venomous African snakes. Without medical treatment, mamba bites are frequently fatal. First-aid treatment includes lymphatic retardation with the pressure immobilization technique. Medical management comprises continuous monitoring, securing patency of the airway, ensuring adequate ventilation, symptomatic measures, and administration of spec...

The snake family Elapidae contains over 60 genera (about 300 species) of highly venomous snakes. About one-third of the alpha-taxonomic diversity of the Elapidae comprises coralsnakes: a major radiation of colourful venomous snakes including six genera distributed in Asia and the Americas. In this study, we examine molecular phylogenetic and descriptive morphological evidence for the placement ...

UNLABELLED A toxicovenomic study was performed on the venom of the green mamba, Dendroaspis angusticeps. Forty-two different proteins were identified in the venom of D. angusticeps, in addition to the nucleoside adenosine. The most abundant proteins belong to the three-finger toxin (3FTx) (69.2%) and the Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitor (16.3%) families. Several sub-subfamilies of the 3FTxs wer...