Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Chamilpa, C.P. 62210, Cuernavaca, Mor., Mexico.
Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501, Costa Rica.
Biochimie. 2024 Jan;216:160-174. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2023.10.014. Epub 2023 Oct 27.
Crotalus culminatus is a medically significant species of rattlesnake in Mexico [1]. While the proteomic composition of its venom has been previously reported for both juvenile and adult specimens, there has been limited research into its functional properties, with only a few studies, including one focusing on coagulotoxicity mechanisms. In this study, we aimed to compare the biochemical and biological activities of the venom of juvenile and adult snakes. Additionally, we assessed antibody production using the venoms of juveniles and adults as immunogens in rabbits. Our findings reveal lethality and proteolytic activity differences between the venoms of juveniles and adults. Notably, juvenile venoms exhibited high proportions of crotamine, while adult venoms displayed a reduction of this component. A commercially available antivenom demonstrated effective neutralization of lethality of both juvenile and adult venoms in mice. However, it failed to neutralize the paralytic activity induced by crotamine, which, in contrast, was successfully inhibited by antibodies obtained from hyperimmunized rabbits. These results suggest the potential inclusion of C. culminatus venom from juveniles in commercial antivenom immunization schemes to generate antibodies targeting this small myotoxin.
矛头蝮是墨西哥一种具有重要医学意义的响尾蛇物种[1]。虽然已经有研究报道过其幼体和成年个体毒液的蛋白质组组成，但对其功能特性的研究却很有限，仅有少数研究，包括一项专注于凝血毒性机制的研究。在这项研究中，我们旨在比较幼体和成年蛇毒液的生化和生物学活性。此外，我们还评估了使用幼体和成年毒液作为免疫原在兔子中产生抗体的情况。我们的研究结果表明，幼体和成年毒液之间存在致死性和蛋白水解活性的差异。值得注意的是，幼体毒液中含有高比例的矛头蝮毒素，而成年毒液中该成分的比例降低。一种市售的抗蛇毒血清可有效中和幼体和成年毒液对小鼠的致死作用。然而，它未能中和矛头蝮毒素引起的麻痹活性，相比之下，这种活性可被来自高度免疫兔子的抗体成功抑制。这些结果表明，在商业抗蛇毒血清免疫方案中可能需要包括来自幼体的矛头蝮毒液，以产生针对这种小型肌肉毒素的抗体。
