Molecular cloning of serine proteases from elapid snake venoms

Serine proteases are widely distributed in viperid snake venoms, but rare in elapid snake venoms. Previously, we have identified a fibrinogenolytic enzyme termed OhS1 from the venom of Ophiophagus hannah. The results indicated that OhS1 might be a serine

Mass spectrometry study on snake venoms and enzymes

In this paper, three kinds of snake venoms and lour kinds of enzymes (phospholipase A(2), fibrinolytic enzyme, arginine esterase and L-amino acid oxidase) isolated from the snake venom were analyzed. As the snake venom was different, the MALDI/TOF/MS showed difference, The MALDI/TOF/MS determination results could be affected Ly the concentrations of snake venom enzymes, And the mechanisms of desorption and ionization was also given in this study, By using MALDI/TOF/MS we obtained the accurate molecular weights and homogeneities of the enzymes. The apparent characteristics of the positive MALDI/TOF/MS of enzymes composed by two subunits were also given out, The results showed that MALDI/TOF/MS is an effective analytic method for discovering new components from snake venom complexes. And it is reliable to use this method to determine the molecular weights and purifies of protein molecules.

Blood cells as targets of snake toxins

Snake venoms are mixtures of enzymes and peptides which exert toxicological effects by targeting their substrates or receptors upon envenomation. Snake venom proteins widely affect vascular system including circulating blood cells, coagulation factors, an

Purification and cloning of cysteine-rich proteins from Trimeresurus jerdonii and Naja atra venoms

Three 26 kDa proteins, named as TJ-CRVP, NA-CRVP1 and NA-CRVP2, were isolated from the venoms of Trimeresurus jerdonii and Naja atra, respectively. The N-terminal sequences of TJ-CRVP and NA-CRVPs were determined. These components were devoid of the enzymatic activities tested, such as phospholipase A(2), arginine esterase, proteolysis, L-amino acid oxidase, 5' nucleotidase, acetylcholinesterase. Furthermore, these three components did not have the following biological activities: coagulant and anticoagulant activities, lethal activity, myotoxicity, hemorrhagic activity, platelet aggregation and platelet aggregation-inhibiting activities. These proteins are named as cysteine-rich venom protein (CRVP) because their sequences showed high level of similarity with mammalian cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP) family. Recently, some CRISP-like proteins were also isolated from several different snake venoms, including Agkistrodon blomhoffi, Trimeresurus flavoviridis, Lanticauda semifascita and king cobra. We presumed that CRVP might be a common component in snake venoms. Of particular interest, phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment showed that NA-CRVP1 and ophanin, both from elapid snakes, share higher similarity with CRVPs from Viperidae snakes. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purification, characterization and biological activities of the L-amino acid oxidase from Bungarus fasciatus snake venom

L-Amino acid oxidases (LAAOs) are widely distributed in snake venoms, which contribute to the toxicity of venoms. However, LAAO from Bungarus fasciatus (B. fasciatus) snake venom has not been isolated previously. In the present study, LAAO from B. fasciat

Cloning of cDNAs encoding C-type lectins from Elapidae snakes Bungarus fasciatus and Bungarus multicinctus

A number of C-type lectins with various biological activities have been purified and characterized from Viperidae snake venoms. In contrast, only a few reports could be found in literature concerning the C-type lectins in Elapidae snake venoms. Based on t

Cloning and purification of alpha-neurotoxins from king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

Thirteen complete and three partial cDNA sequences were cloned from the constructed king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) venom gland cDNA library. Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences of king cobra with those from other snake venoms revealed that obta

Cloning of two novel P-III class metalloproteinases from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom gland

Hemorrhagic toxins are widely distributed in viperid and crotalid snake venoms. Envenomation of Trimeresurus stejnegeri, a member of Crotalidae family, caused potent systemic and local hemorrhage. Up to now, there is no report on hemorrhage toxins from th

A horsefly saliva antigen 5-like protein containing RTS motif is an angiogenesis inhibitor

The Ag5 proteins are the most abundant and immunogenic proteins in the venom secretory ducts of stinging insects. An antigen 5-like protein (named tabRTS) composed of 221 amino acid residues was purified and characterized from the salivary glands of the horsefly, Tabanus yao (Diptera, Tabanidae). Its cDNA was cloned from the cDNA library of the horsefly's salivary gland. TabRTS containing the SCP domain (Sc7 family of extracellular protein domain) was found in insect antigen 5 proteins. More interestingly, there is an Arg-Thr-Ser (RTS) disintegrin motif at the C-terminus of tabRTS. The RTS motif is positioned in a loop bracketed by cysteine residues as those found in RTS-disintegrins of Crotalidae and Viperidae snake venoms, which act as angiogenesis inhibitors. Endothelial Cell Tube formation assay in vitro and chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) angiogenesis assay in vivo were performed as to investigate the effect of tabRTS on angiogenesis. It was found that tabRTS could significantly inhibit angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Anti-alpha(1)beta(1) monoclonal antibody could dose-dependently inhibit the anti-angiogenic activity of tabRTS. This result indicated that tabRTS possibly targets the alpha(1)beta(1) integrin to exert the anti-angiogenic activity as snake venom RTS-/KTS-disintegrins do. The current work revealed the first angiogenesis inhibitor protein containing RTS motif from invertebrates, a possible novel type of RTS-disintegrin. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

L-amino acid oxidase from Naja atra venom activates and binds to human platelets

An L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO), NA-LAAO, was purified from the venom of Naja atra. Its N-terminal sequence shows great similarity with LAAOs from other snake venoms. NA-LAAO dose-dependently induced aggregation of washed human platelets. However, it had n

7 种蛇毒小肽对临床分离耐(多) 药结核分枝杆菌的体外活性研究

目的　检测7 种从蛇毒分离的小肽是否对临床分离的耐药性结核分枝杆菌菌株具有活性。方法　放射性方法检测蛇毒 小肽对结核分枝杆菌的最小抑制浓度,细菌存活计数确证放射性方法的结果。结果　7 种蛇毒小肽对耐药性结核分枝杆菌菌 株都有活性。其MIC 值分别为(μg·mL - 1) : Opiophagus hannah 5. 4 , Naja at ra 8. 6 , B ungarus f asciatus 6. 4 , Trimeresurus ste2 jnegri 12. 6 , Protobothrops mucrosquamatus 11. 8 , Protobothrops jerdonii 7 , A gksist rodon halys 4. 2 。结论　这些结果是首次报 道,为进一步设计和开发新来源的抗结核病新药提供了依据。

蛇毒血管内皮生长因子及丝氨酸蛋白酶类似物的研究

蝰科蛇毒中含有丰富的具有血管通透增强活性的蛋白组分，本论文结合生物化学与分子生物学手段对几种毒蛇的蛇毒血管内皮生长因子进行了研究。其中，从云南产菜花烙铁头（Trimeresurus jerdonii）蛇毒中分离得到一个血管内皮生长因子，TjsvVEGF，并研究了其活性与受体结合特性的关系。同时，对圆斑蝰蛇、蝮蛇、山烙铁头和竹叶青等几种蛇的svVEGFs进行了分子生物学研究。此外，我们还分离到了一个蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶类似物,TjsvSPH,还对该蛋白的理化性质进行了初步研究。 TjsvVEGF是一个表观分子量为29 kDa的二聚体蛋白，由两个相同大小的亚基组成。活性实验表明，它在10ng的剂量下即可明显提高血管通透性，活性强度与VEGF165相当。虽然TjsvVEGF的氨基酸序列与TfsvVEGF和Pm-VEGF具有较高的相似性，但是它们的受体结合特性却有很大差异。TjsvVEGF与VEGFR-1的结合能力很弱，而对VEGR-2有很高的亲和力。这说明，TjsvVEGF的活性主要是VEGFR-2介导的。最后，我们对导致TjsvVEGF对VEGFR-1低亲和力的原因进行了探讨。 利用PCR方法，我们从圆斑蝰蛇毒腺中得到了三种svVEGFs蛋白编码区长短不一的cDNA序列，其差异是由cDNA链中一段富含AG（3’拼接接受位点）的区段发生了核苷酸缺失产生的。蛋白编码区核苷酸的缺失导致其编码的三种svVEGF蛋白N末端的氨基酸序列和长短均产生较大差异。因此我们推测，蝰属svVEGFs蛋白N末端普遍较短可能是编码它们的mRNA前体对3’拼接点的不同选择产生的。同时，通过对cDNAs推导的氨基酸序列分析发现，蝮蛇svVEGF和山烙铁头svVEGF在与受体结合相关的多个重要位点上发生了氨基酸替换，提示它们是研究svVEGFs与VEGFR结合机制的良好材料。 通过分子筛、离子交换和亲和层析等方法，我们还从菜花烙铁头蛇毒中得到了一个不具有酶活性的丝氨酸蛋白酶类似物，命名为：TjsvSPH。内肽序列测定结果表明，TjsvSPH三联体结构中的组氨酸已突变为精氨酸，这很可能是导致其失去蛋白水解酶活性的主要原因。活性检测验表明，与许多已发现的蛇毒活性组分不同，TjsvSPH不具有蛋白水解酶活性，不能引起血小板聚集，也不抑制ADP和凝血酶诱导的血小板聚集。它对人血浆的复钙时间也没有影响。TjsvSPH的氨基酸序列与典型蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶Halystase和Calobin有约77％的一致性。它与同科属来源的蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶类似物氨基酸序列相似性高达92％以上，与不同科属的也有约74％以上的相似性。通过对Genbank中六种毒蛇所有丝氨酸蛋白酶及其类似物进化分析，我们推测，蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶类似物很可能是由蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶进化而来，并在进化过程中形成了一类独特的蛋白质。

A NOVEL PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR FROM SNAKE-VENOM - PURIFICATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND MOLECULAR-CLONING

A novel plasminogen activator from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom (TSV-PA) has been identified and purified to homogeneity. It is a single chain glycoprotein with an apparent molecular weight of 33,000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.2. It specifically activates plasminogen through an enzymatic reaction. The activation of human native GIu-plasminogen by TSV-PA is due to a single cleavage of the molecule at the peptide bond Arg(561)-Val-(562). Purified TSV-PA, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of several tripeptide p-nitroanilide substrates, does not activate nor degrade prothrombin, factor X, or protein C and does not clot fibrinogen nor show fibrino(geno)lytic activity in the absence of plasminogen. The activity of TSV-PA was readily inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride and by p-nitrophenyl-p-guanidinobenzoate. Oligonucleotide primers designed on the basis of the N-terminal and the internal peptide sequences of TSV-PA were used for the amplification of cDNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction. This allowed the cloning of a full-length cDNA encoding TSV-PA from a cDNA library prepared from the venom glands. The deduced complete amino acid sequence of TSV-PA indicates that the mature TSV-PA protein is composed of 234 amino acids and contains a single potential N-gIycosylation site at Asn(1G1). The sequence of TSV-PA exhibits a high degree of sequence identity with other snake venom proteases: 66% with the protein C activator from Aghistrodon contortrix contortrix venom, 63% with batroxobin, and 60% with the factor V activator from Russell's viper venom. On the other hand, TSV-PA shows only 21-23% sequence similarity with the catalytic domains of u-PA and t-PA. Furthermore, TSV-PA lacks the sequence site that has been demonstrated to be responsible for the interaction of t-PA (KHRR) and u-PA (RRHR) with plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1.