Study of peptidase activity of the B. jararaca venom and potential neutralizing serum produced at Instituto Butantan upon this activity: new aspects of Bothrops poisoning

Abstract

Although the ophidian poisoning overcome various other neglected tropical diseases in terms of number of occurrence and deaths, such as leishmaniasis, dengue, schistosomiasis, cholera and Chagas disease, it was only recently recognized as an important issue of public health. The genus Bothrops is considered the most important in the cases of poisoning in Brazil and, as well as on other snake, their venom is a complex mixture of constituents that act on different targets in the prey/victim. Because proteolytic enzymes from the classes of metalopeptidases and serinopeptidases (about 65 % of the composition of poison) are the major toxins from these venoms, they were chosen for the development of this research project. Although there is much information about proteic substrates for these enzymes, few data for the peptidasic activity are available. Recently in our laboratory we have been able to identify a new chymotrypsin-like angiotensin degrading activity in the venom of five Botrhops species which is only partially blocked by anti-botrhopic serum produced by the Instituto Butantan (Kuniyoshi et al., 2010). These results, describing a new peptidasic activity in bothropic venoms, opened the opportunity to amplify the studies using other biologically active peptides and who may be participating in the framework of human poisoning by these animals. To do this we will use a series of biologically active peptides and commercial site-targeted inhibitors against the serinopeptidases and metalopeptidases, the major toxins of this poison. (AU)