Venom of the Coral Snake Micrurus clarki: Proteomic Profile, Toxicity, Immunological Cross-Neutralization, and Characterization of a Three-Finger Toxin

 

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lomonte, Bruno, Sasa Marín, Mahmood, Rey Suárez, Paola, Bryan Quirós, Wendy, Gutiérrez, José María
Formato: artículo original
Fecha de Publicación:2016
Descripción:Micrurus clarki is an uncommon coral snake distributed from the Southeastern Pacific of Costa Rica to Western Colombia, for which no information on its venom could be found in the literature. Using a 'venomics' approach, proteins of at least nine families were identified, with a moderate predominance of three-finger toxins (3FTx; 48.2%) over phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂; 36.5%). Comparison of this venom profile with those of other Micrurus species suggests that it may represent a more balanced, 'intermediate' type within the dichotomy between 3FTx- and PLA₂-predominant venoms. M. clarki venom was strongly cross-recognized and, accordingly, efficiently neutralized by an equine therapeutic antivenom against M. nigrocinctus, revealing their high antigenic similarity. Lethal activity for mice could be reproduced by a PLA₂ venom fraction, but, unexpectedly, not by fractions corresponding to 3FTxs. The most abundant venom component, hereby named clarkitoxin-I, was identified as a short-chain (type I) 3FTx, devoid of lethal effect in mice, whose target remains to be defined. Its amino acid sequence of 66 residues shows high similarity with predicted sequences of venom gland transcripts described for M. fulvius, M. browni, and M. diastema.
País:Kérwá
Institución:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Kérwá
OAI Identifier:oai:kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/30164
Acceso en línea:http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/8/5/138
https://hdl.handle.net/10669/30164
Palabra clave:Elapidae
Micrurus
Antivenom
Monadal coral snake
Neutralization
Proteome
Toxin
Snake venom