Purification and properties of a lethal, hemorrhagic protein, "Mucrotoxin A", from the venom of the Chinese habu snake (Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus).

Mucrotoxin A was purified from the lyophilized venom of Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus using gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column, followed by chromatography on CM-Sephadex C-50 and DEAE-Sephadex A-50. By these procedures, 14 mg of purified preparation could be obtained from 1 g of crude venom. The purified preparation was homogeneous by disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel at pH 8.3, isoelectric focusing and by the presence of one precipitin line on immunodiffusion. Mucrotoxin A possessed both lethal and hemorrhagic activities, but it did not show caseinolytic activity. Its molecular weight was approximately 94,000 and the isoelectric point was 4.3. Mucrotoxin A contains approximately 3 moles of Ca and 2 moles of Zn per mole of toxin. The amino acid composition of Mucrotoxin A was determined. No carbohydrate was present.