Marjorie Romero

Isolation and characterization of a metalloproteinase with weak hemorrhagic activity from the venom of the snake Bothrops asper (terciopelo)

A metalloproteinase, named BaP1, was purified to homogeneity from the venom of Bothrops asper (Pacific region) of Costa Rica by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sephadex and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. The enzyme has a mol. wt of 24,000 and contains few Cys and high numbers of Asp, Leu, Ser and Glu. BaP1 hydrolyzes casein, hide powder azure and fibrinogen, having an optimal pH of 8.0. It rapidly digests the A alpha-chain of fibrinogen and, later on, the B beta-chain, leaving the gamma-chain unaffected. Chelating agents (EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline) inhibited proteolytic activity, whereas 2-mercaptoethanol and soybean trypsin inhibitor did not affect this activity. BaP1 has a weak hemorrhagic activity, with a minimum hemorrhagic dose of 20 micrograms; this activity was inhibited by EDTA and was abolished after incubation at 60 degrees C. In addition, BaP1 induces edema and a mild myotoxic effect, lacking coagulant, defibrinating and lethal effects.

Neutralization, by a monospecific Bothrops lanceolatus antivenom, of toxic activities induced by homologous and heterologous Bothírops snake venoms.

A monospecific Bothrops lanceolatus antivenom, currently used in Martinique, was tested for its efficacy in the neutralization of several toxic and enzymatic activities of the venoms of B. lanceolatus, B. atrox and B. asper. When tested by the i.p. route in mice, B. lanceolatus venom had an LD50 of 12.8 microg/g. In addition, it induced local tissue damage (hemorrhage, edema and myotoxicity) and showed indirect hemolytic activity, but was devoid of coagulant effect on human plasma in vitro and of defibrinating activity in mice. Antivenom was fully effective in the neutralization of lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, myotoxic and indirect hemolytic effects of B. lanceolatus venom in assays involving preincubation of venom and antivenom. When tested against the venoms of B. asper and B. atrox, the antivenom completely neutralized the lethal, hemorrhagic, myotoxic and indirect hemolytic effects, and was partially effective in neutralizing edema-forming activity. In contrast, the antivenom was ineffective in the neutralization of in vitro coagulant and in vivo defibrinating effects induced by these two venoms.

An MTT-based method for the in vivo quantification of myotoxic activity of snake venoms and its neutralization by antibodies

The reduction of the tetrazolium compound MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) was used as the basis for the development of a simple method for the quantitative estimation of metabolically active skeletal muscle tissue remaining after in vivo venom-induced myonecrosis. Using the venom of the snake Micrurus nigrocinctus as a potent myotoxic agent, this MTT-based technique was evaluated in comparison with available methods based on the measurement of creatine kinase (CK) activity, and a quantitative histological technique considered as a reference. Homogenates of the gastrocnemius muscle prepared in the presence of 1% Triton X-100 reduced MTT and this activity correlated closely with the number of viable cells in the tissue, as determined by histological evaluation. After venom injection, residual MTT-reducing activity of muscle homogenates showed higher correlation to the myonecrosis index obtained by histological analysis, than residual muscle CK activity. Using the new MTT-based assay, the ability of an anti-M. nigrocinctus equine antivenom to neutralize venom myotoxins was studied. The myotoxic activity of the venom was completely neutralized using 4 ml antivenom/mg venom, with a 50% effective dose (ED50) value of about 2.5 ml/mg. The MTT-based method described should be useful in the estimation and standardization of anti-myotoxic potency of antivenoms, and in the screening of other neutralizing agents, as a convenient and reliable alternative to the time-consuming quantitative histological methods.

Comparative study of the venoms of three subspecies of Lachesis muta (bushmaster) from Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica

A comparative study was performed on the pharmacology and biochemistry of venoms from three subspecies of Lachesis muta (L. m. stenophrys, L. m. muta and L. m. rhombeata) from Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica. All venoms induced lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, myotoxic, coagulant and defibrinating effects, showing also proteolytic and indirect hemolytic activities. The venoms of L. m. stenophrys from Costa Rica and L. m. muta from Cascalheira, Brazil, had the highest lethal and hemorrhagic activities and the venom of L. m. rhombeata showed the highest coagulant activity, whereas no significant differences were observed in myotoxic and edema-forming activities at most of the time intervals studied. In addition, venoms showed similar electrophoretic patterns on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In conclusion, despite quantitative differences in toxic and enzymatic activities, together with subtle variations in electrophoretic patterns, our results indicate that experimental envenomation by these venoms induce a qualitatively similar pathophysiological profile.

Modulation of ICAM‐1 tissue expression in patients with liver transplantation (LT) and acute rejection (AR) after glucocorticoid treatment

Abstract Acute rejection (AR) is a frequent complication following liver transplantation (LT). ICAM‐1 may be involved in its pathogenesis. High doses of glucocorticoids are the standard treatment in these patients. The aim of this study was to describe corticoid effects on ICAM‐1 tissue expression in liver biopsies of patients with LT and AR. The study included liver biopsies performed before and after treatment in 12 patients with LT and proven AR. In 10 patients AR was reversible and in 2, was steroid resistant. For immunohistochemistry, an indirect immunoperoxidase technique was used. Each histology section was semiquantitatively evaluated as follows: 0: <10% staining, 1: 10‐25%, 2: 25‐50%, 3: >50%. The control group comprised nine patients with LT and normal liver biopsies. In pre‐treatment liver biopsy samples, ICAM‐1 was markedly expressed on sinusoidal cells (2.41 ± 0.66), and there was also expression on periportal (0.66 ± 0.65) and perivenular hepatocytes (0.83 ± 0.57). By contrast, in the liver tissue from the control group, sinusoidal ICAM‐1 reactivity was significantly lower (0.88 ± 0.33; P < 0.05), and hepatocytes showed no reliable ICAM‐1 expression. After steroid treatment the intensity of ICAM‐1 decreased significantly in sinusoids (1.5 ± 0.67; P < 0.05) and in perivenular hepatocytes (0.25 ± 0.86; P < 0.05). Additionally, we also observed a decreased ICAM‐1 reactivity in portal hepatocytes (0.25 ± 0.62), but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Remarkably, after treatment, hepatocytes did not show ICAM‐1 reactivity in resolved AR, but in corticoid‐resistant patients AR did not change or increase. In conclusion, in patients with LT and AR, ICAM‐1 was expressed in hepatocytes and with more intensity in sinusoid cells. Additionally, a down‐regulation of the ICAM‐1 tissue expression after corticoid treatment may exist, although in corticoid‐resistant AR no modulation on ICAM‐1 tissue expression was observed.