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Lopes-de-Souza L, Costal-Oliveira F, Rodrigues CR, Stransky S, de Assis TCS, Liberato C, Vivas-Ruiz D, Chocas AY, Guerra-Duarte C, Braga VMM, Chávez-Olortegui C. Bothrops atrox venom: Biochemical properties and cellular phenotypes of three highly toxic classes of toxins. Biochim Biophys Acta Proteins Proteom 2023; 1871:140930. [PMID: 37442518 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2023.140930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Snake venoms have a complex mixture of compounds that are conserved across species and act synergistically, triggering severe local and systemic effects. Identification of the toxin classes that are most damaging to cell homeostasis would be a powerful approach to focus on the main activities that underpin envenomation. Here, we focus on the venom of Bothrops atrox, snake responsible for most of the accidents in Amazon region of South America. We identified the key cytotoxic toxin fractions from B. atrox venom and mapped their biochemical properties, protein composition and cell damage. Five fractions were obtained by mass exclusion chromatography and contained either a single class of enzymatic activity (i.e., L-amino acid oxidases or Hyaluronidases) or different activities co-distributed in two or more protein fractions (e.g., Metalloproteinases, Serine Proteases, or Phospholipases A2). Only three protein fractions reduced cell viability of primary human cells. Strikingly, such activity is accompanied by disruption of cell attachment to substratum and to neighbouring cells. Such strong perturbation of morphological cell features indicates likely defects in tissue integrity in vivo. Mass spectrometry identified the main classes of toxins that contribute to these phenotypes. We provide here a strategy for the selection of key cytotoxic proteins for targeted investigation of their mechanism of action and potential synergism during snakebite envenomation. Our data highlights putative toxins (or combinations of) that may be the focus of future therapeutic interference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leticia Lopes-de-Souza
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Costal-Oliveira
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Carolina Rego Rodrigues
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Stephanie Stransky
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Thamyres C S de Assis
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Camila Liberato
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Dan Vivas-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular - Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Peru
| | - Armando Yarleque Chocas
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular - Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Peru
| | - Clara Guerra-Duarte
- Diretoria de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Vania M M Braga
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Carlos Chávez-Olortegui
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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