title: Acanthoxin, a toxic phospholipase A2 from the venom of the common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus).
abstract: This is the first report of a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from the venom of the common death adder, Acanthophis antarcticus. Acanthoxin is a basic, monomeric PLA2 of mol. wt 13,000, consistent with the weight of neurotoxic PLA2s from other Australian elapids. However, preliminary ultracentrifugation experimentation has shown that it is able to undergo concentration-dependent aggregation to form dimers. It has a relatively high degree of enzymatic activity (23.93 +/- 1.18 mumoles of phospholipid hydrolysed/min/mg protein), but a low level of toxicity (3.2 mg/kg, s.c.). Acanthoxin is known to exist as two isoforms (A1 and A2), both of which show a high degree of homology with numerous elapid PLA2 neurotoxins, in particular pseudexin A from the red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus).
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Weyden
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hains
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Broady
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000201:enzymology*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010741:Phospholipases A / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity*; D054467:Phospholipases A2; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D004546:Elapid Venoms; D010741:Phospholipases A; D054467:Phospholipases A2; C108584:acanthoxin