Characterization of Ac3-proteinase from the venom of Agkistrodon acutus (hundred-pace snake).

Ac3-Proteinase from the venom of Agkistrodon acutus was isolated in a homogeneous form by a previously published method. Ac3-Proteinase possessed lethal, hemorrhagic, caseinolytic, azocaseinolytic, dimethylcaseinolytic and hide powder azure hydrolytic activities. These activities were inhibited when Ac3-Proteinase was incubated with the metal chelators ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), tetraethylenepentamine (TEP), 1,10-phenanthroline, phosphoramidon or beta-mercaptoethanol. The toxin also hydrolyzed the oxidized A and B chains of both insulin and fibrinogen. The cleavage sites in the oxidized B chain of insulin were identified as His(10)-Leu(11), Ala(14)-Leu(15), Tyr(16)-Leu(17) and Phe(24)-Phe(25). The A alpha chain of fibrinogen was digested first followed by hydrolysis of the B beta chain. Toxicological and biochemical properties of Ac3-Proteinase were investigated further and are reported in this paper.