José Escolano

Snake Venomics of the Lancehead Pitviper Bothrops asper: Geographic, Individual, and Ontogenetic Variations

We report the comparative proteomic characterization of the venoms of adult and newborn specimens of the lancehead pitviper Bothrops asper from two geographically isolated populations from the Caribbean and the Pacific versants of Costa Rica. The crude venoms were fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC, followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The two B. asper populations, separated since the late Miocene or early Pliocene (8-5 mya) by the Guanacaste Mountain Range, Central Mountain Range, and Talamanca Mountain Range, contain both identical and different (iso)enzymes from the PLA 2, serine proteinase, and SVMP families. Using a similarity coefficient, we estimate that the similarity of venom proteins between the two B. asper populations may be around 52%. Compositional differences between venoms among different geographic regions may be due to evolutionary environmental pressure acting on isolated populations. To investigate venom variability among specimens from the two B. asper populations, the reverse-phase HPLC protein profiles of 15 venoms from Caribbean specimens and 11 venoms from snakes from Pacific regions were compared. Within each B. asper geographic populations, all major venom protein families appeared to be subjected to individual variations. The occurrence of intraspecific individual allopatric variability highlights the concept that a species, B. asper in our case, should be considered as a group of metapopulations. Analysis of pooled venoms of neonate specimens from Caribbean and Pacific regions with those of adult snakes from the same geographical habitat revealed prominent ontogenetic changes in both geographical populations. Major ontogenetic changes appear to be a shift from a PIII-SVMP-rich to a PI-SVMP-rich venom and the secretion in adults of a distinct set of PLA 2 molecules than in the neonates. In addition, the ontogenetic venom composition shift results in increasing venom complexity, indicating that the requirement for the venom to immobilize prey and initiate digestion may change with the size (age) of the snake. Besides ecological and taxonomical implications, the geographical venom variability reported here may have an impact in the treatment of bite victims and in the selection of specimens for antivenom production. The occurrence of intraspecies variability in the biochemical composition and symptomatology after envenomation by snakes from different geographical location and age has long been appreciated by herpetologist and toxinologists, though detailed comparative proteomic analysis are scarce. Our study represents the first detailed characterization of individual and ontogenetic venom protein profile variations in two geographical isolated B. asper populations, and highlights the necessity of using pooled venoms as a statistically representative venom for antivenom production.

Snake Venomics and Antivenomics of the Arboreal Neotropical Pitvipers Bothriechis lateralis and Bothriechis schlegelii

We report the comparative proteomic characterization of the venoms of two related neotropical arboreal pitvipers from Costa Rica of the genus Bothriechis, B. lateralis (side-striped palm pit viper) and B. schlegelii (eyelash pit viper). The crude venoms were fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC, followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The venom proteomes of B. lateralis and B. schlegelii comprise similar number of distinct proteins belonging, respectively, to 8 and 7 protein families. The two Bothriechis venoms contain bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), and proteins from the phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2), serine proteinase, l-amino acid oxidase (LAO), cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP), and Zn (2+)-dependent metalloproteinase (SVMP) families, albeit each species exhibit different relative abundances. Each venom also contains unique components, for example, snake venom vascular endothelial growth factor (svVEGF) and C-type lectin-like molecules in B. lateralis, and Kazal-type serine proteinase inhibitor-like proteins in B. schlegelii. Using a similarity coefficient, we estimate that the similarity of the venom proteins between the two Bothriechis taxa may be <10%, indicating a high divergence in their venom compositions, in spite of the fact that both species have evolved to adapt to arboreal habits. The major toxin families of B. lateralis and B. schlegelii are SVMP (55% of the total venom proteins) and PLA 2 (44%), respectively. Their different venom toxin compositions provide clues for rationalizing the distinct signs of envenomation caused by B. schlegelii and B. lateralis. An antivenomic study of the immunoreactivity of the Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP) polyvalent antivenom toward Bothriechis venoms revealed that l-amino acid oxidase and SVMPs represent the major antigenic protein species in both venoms. Our results provide a ground for rationalizing the reported protection of the ICP polyvalent antivenom against the hemorrhagic, coagulant, defibrinating, caseinolytic and fibrin(ogen)olytic activities of Bothriechis ( schlegelii, lateralis) venoms. However, these analyses also evidenced the limited recognition capability of the polyvalent antivenom toward a number of Bothriechis venom components, predominantly BPPs, svVEGF, Kazal-type inhibitors, some PLA 2 proteins, some serine proteinases, and CRISP molecules.

Snake venomics of the South and Central American Bushmasters. Comparison of the toxin composition of Lachesis muta gathered from proteomic versus transcriptomic analysis

We report the proteomic characterization of the venoms of two closely related pit vipers of the genus Lachesis, L. muta (South American Bushmaster) and L. stenophrys (Central American Bushmaster), and compare the toxin repertoire of the former revealed through a proteomic versus a transcriptomic approach. The protein composition of the venoms of Lachesis muta and L. stenophrys were analyzed by RP-HPLC, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF peptide mass fingerprinting and CID-MS/MS. Around 30-40 proteins of molecular masses in the range of 13-110 kDa and belonging, respectively, to only 8 and 7 toxin families were identified in L. muta and L. stenophrys venoms. In addition, both venoms contained a large number of bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPP) and a C-type natriuretic peptide (C-NP). BPPs and C-NP comprised around 15% of the total venom proteins. In both species, the most abundant proteins were Zn(2+)-metalloproteinases (32-38%) and serine proteinases (25-31%), followed by PLA(2)s (9-12%), galactose-specific C-type lectin (4-8%), l-amino acid oxidase (LAO, 3-5%), CRISP (1.8%; found in L. muta but not in L. stenophrys), and NGF (0.6%). On the other hand, only six L. muta venom-secreted proteins matched any of the previously reported 11 partial or full-length venom gland transcripts, and venom proteome and transcriptome depart in their relative abundances of different toxin families. As expected from their close phylogenetic relationship, the venoms of L. muta and L. stenophrys share (or contain highly similar) proteins, in particular BPPs, serine proteinases, a galactose-specific C-type lectin, and LAO. However, they dramatically depart in their respective PLA(2) complement. Intraspecific quantitative and qualitative differences in the expression of PLA(2) molecules were found when the venoms of five L. muta specimens (3 from Bolivia and 2 from Peru) and the venom of the same species purchased from Sigma were compared. These observations indicate that these class of toxins represents a rapidly-evolving gene family, and suggests that functional differences due to structural changes in PLA(2)s molecules among these snakes may have been a hallmark during speciation and adaptation of diverging snake populations to new ecological niches, or competition for resources in existing ones. Our data may contribute to a deeper understanding of the biology and ecology of these snakes, and may also serve as a starting point for studying structure-function correlations of individual toxins.

Snake Venomics of the Lesser Antillean Pit Vipers Bothrops caribbaeus and Bothrops lanceolatus: Correlation with Toxicological Activities and Immunoreactivity of a Heterologous Antivenom†

The venom proteomes of the snakes Bothrops caribbaeus and Bothrops lanceolatus, endemic to the Lesser Antillean islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique, respectively, were characterized by reverse-phase HPLC fractionation, followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The venoms contain proteins belonging to seven ( B. caribbaeus) and five ( B. lanceolatus) types of toxins. B. caribbaeus and B. lanceolatus venoms contain phospholipases A 2, serine proteinases, l-amino acid oxidases and zinc-dependent metalloproteinases, whereas a long disintegrin, DC-fragments and a CRISP molecule were present only in the venom of B. caribbaeus, and a C-type lectin-like molecule was characterized in the venom of B. lanceolatus. Compositional differences between venoms among closely related species from different geographic regions may be due to evolutionary environmental pressure acting on isolated populations. The venoms of these two species differed in the composition and the relative abundance of their component toxins, but they exhibited similar toxicological and enzymatic profiles in mice, characterized by lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, phospholipase A 2 and proteolytic activities. The venoms of B. caribbaeus and B. lanceolatus are devoid of coagulant and defibrinogenating effects and induce only mild local myotoxicity in mice. The characteristic thrombotic effect described in human envenomings by these species was not reproduced in the mouse model. The toxicological profile observed is consistent with the abundance of metalloproteinases, PLA 2s and serine proteinases in the venoms. A polyvalent (Crotalinae) antivenom produced in Costa Rica was able to immunodeplete approximately 80% of the proteins from both B. caribbaeus and B. lanceolatus venoms, and was effective in neutralizing the lethal, hemorrhagic, phospholipase A 2 and proteolytic activities of these venoms.

Snake venomics and antivenomics of Bothrops colombiensis, a medically important pitviper of the Bothrops atrox-asper complex endemic to Venezuela: contributing to its taxonomy and snakebite management.

The taxonomic status of the medically important pitviper of the Bothrops atrox-asper complex endemic to Venezuela, which has been classified as Bothrops colombiensis, remains incertae cedis. To help resolving this question, the venom proteome of B. colombiensis was characterized by reverse-phase HPLC fractionation followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The venom contained proteins belonging to 8 types of families. PI Zn(2+)-metalloproteinases and K49 PLA(2) molecules comprise over 65% of the venom proteins. Other venom protein families comprised PIII Zn(2+)-metalloproteinases (11.3%), D49 PLA(2)s (10.2%), l-amino acid oxidase (5.7%), the medium-sized disintegrin colombistatin (5.6%), serine proteinases (1%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides (0.8%), a DC-fragment (0.5%), and a CRISP protein (0.1%). A comparison of the venom proteomes of B. colombiensis and B. atrox did not support the suggested synonymy between these two species. The closest homologues to B. colombiensis venom proteins appeared to be toxins from B. asper. A rough estimation of the similarity between the venoms of B. colombiensis and B. asper indicated that these species share approximately 65-70% of their venom proteomes. The close kinship of B. colombiensis and B. asper points at the ancestor of B. colombiensis as the founding Central American B. asper ancestor. This finding may be relevant for reconstructing the natural history and cladogenesis of Bothrops. Further, the virtually indistinguishable immunological crossreactivity of a Venezuelan ABC antiserum (raised against a mixture of B. colombiensis and Crotalus durissus cumanensis venoms) and the Costa Rican ICP polyvalent antivenom (generated against a mixture of B. asper, Crotalus simus, and Lachesis stenophrys venoms) towards the venoms of B. colombiensis and B. asper, supports this view and suggests the possibility of indistinctly using these antivenoms for the management of snakebites by any of these Bothrops species. However, our analyses also evidenced the limited recognition capability or avidity of these antivenoms towards a number of B. colombiensis and B. asper venom components, most notably medium-size disintegrins, bradykinin-potentiating peptides, PLA(2) proteins, and PI Zn(2+)-metalloproteinases.

Studies on the venom proteome of Bothrops asper: Perspectives and applications

Bothrops asper is responsible for the vast majority of snakebite accidents in Central America and several studies have demonstrated that specific toxic and enzymatic activities of its venom vary with the geographic origin and age of the specimens. Variability in venom proteins and enzymes between specimens from the Caribbean and the Pacific versants of Costa Rica has been reported since 1964. Recently, we performed a comparative proteomic characterization of the venoms from one population of each versant. Proteins belonging to several families, including disintegrin, phospholipases A(2), serine proteinases, C-type lectins, CRISP, l-amino acid oxidase, and Zn(2+)-dependent metalloproteinases show a variable degree of relative occurrence in the venoms of both populations. The occurrence of prominent differences in the protein profile between venoms from adults and newborns, and among venom samples from individual specimens of the same region or developmental stage, further demonstrated the existence of geographic, ontogenetic and individual variability in the venom proteome of this species. These findings provide new insights towards understanding the biology of B. asper, contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathology induced by its venom and underscore the importance of the use of venoms pooled from specimens from both regions for producing antivenom exhibiting the broadest cross-reactivity. Furthermore, knowledge of the protein composition of B. asper venom paves the way for detailed future structure-function studies of individual toxins as well as for the development of new protocols to study the reactivity of therapeutic antivenoms.