Characterization of the venom from Crotalus molossus nigrescens Gloyd (black tail rattlesnake): isolation of two proteases.
The venom from Crotalus molossus nigrescens contains many activities including: hyde powder azure proteinase; N-benzoyl-arginine-ethyl-ester hydrolase; phospholipase; phosphodiesterase; desoxyribonuclease; fibrinogen coagulase; collagenase, fibrinolytic activity, and hemorrhagic factors. The venom, assayed with amounts of venom up to 50 micrograms protein per assay, does not contain acetylcholinesterase, phosphatase, amylase, ribonuclease, tyrosyl-ester hydrolase or hyaluronidase activities. The venom is lethal to mice with an i.p. LD50 of 2.35 mg/kg mouse. Fractionation of soluble venom by Sephadex G-75 separates at least five families of components. Fractions I-III contains all the enzymes, and fraction V have six small peptides. Further separation of fractions II-III on diethyl-amino-ethyl-cellulose columns at pH 8.0 and 8.3 gave pure proteinase E with a mol. wt of 21,390 and the following N-terminal amino acid sequence; Phe-Ala-Lys-Arg-Tyr-Val-Glx-Leu-Val-Ile-Val-Ala. A thrombin-like enzyme with a mol. wt of 75,000 was also purified from this venom by means of affinity and ion exchange chromatographies.
Department of Biochemistry, UNAM, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
G A
GA
Ramírez
P L
PL
Fletcher
L D
LD
Possani
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003435:Crotalid Venoms / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D000596:Amino Acids; D003435:Crotalid Venoms; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases