Biomolecules Discovery Group, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 7 Via Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador; Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Centro Nacional de Acuicultura e Investigaciones Marinas (CENAIM), Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb) e Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador.
Toxicon. 2021 Apr 15;193:63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.01.007. Epub 2021 Jan 24.
Bothrops atrox is the most clinically relevant snake species within the Amazon region, which includes Ecuadorian territories. It comprises a large distribution, which could contribute to the genetic and venomic variation identified in the species. The high variability and protein isoform diversity of its venom are of medical interest, since it can influence the clinical manifestations caused by envenomation and its treatment. However, in Ecuador there is insufficient information on the diversity of venomic phenotypes, even of relevant species such as B. atrox. Here, we characterized the biochemical and toxicological profiles of the venom of six B. atrox individuals from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Differences in catalytic activities of toxins, elution profiles in liquid chromatography, electrophoretic patterns, and toxic effects among the analyzed samples were identified. Nonetheless, in the preclinical testing of antivenom, two samples from Mera (Pastaza) required a higher dose to achieve total neutralization of lethality and hemorrhage. Taken together, these data highlight the importance of analyzing individual venoms in studies focused on the outcomes of envenoming.
矛头蝮是亚马逊地区（包括厄瓜多尔领土）最具临床相关性的蛇种。它分布广泛，这可能导致了该物种的遗传和毒液变异。其毒液具有很高的变异性和蛋白同工型多样性，这引起了医学关注，因为它会影响蛇伤引起的临床表现和治疗。然而，在厄瓜多尔，关于毒液表型多样性的信息不足，甚至对矛头蝮等相关物种也是如此。在这里，我们对来自厄瓜多尔亚马逊地区的 6 个矛头蝮个体的毒液进行了生化和毒理学特征分析。在分析的样本中，毒素的催化活性、液相色谱洗脱图谱、电泳模式和毒性效应存在差异。尽管如此，在抗蛇毒血清的临床前测试中，来自帕斯塔萨的两个来自 Mera 的样本需要更高的剂量才能实现完全中和致死性和出血。总的来说，这些数据强调了在关注蛇伤结果的研究中分析个体毒液的重要性。
