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Finishing a red tide event (November 2005–April 2006), and after ingestion of 40–50 specimens of Plicopurpura columellaris (Muricidae), four Salvadoran girls, ranging from 4 to 11 years, presented intoxication symptoms within one hour. They were taken to hospital after more than two hours of symptoms. One fatality occurred when the elder girl died after six hours of ingestion. Specimen samples were...
Sticholysin II (St II) is a toxin from the sea anemona Stichodactyla helianthus that produces erythrocytes lysis at low concentration and its activity depends on the presence of calcium. Calcium may act modifying toxin interaction with erythrocyte membranes or activating cellular processes which may result in a modified St II lytic action. In this study we are reporting that, in the presence of external...
In the present study, a thrombin-like enzyme named BpSP-I was isolated from Bothrops pauloensis snake venom and its biochemical, enzymatic and pharmacological characteristics were determined. BpSP-I is a glycoprotein that contains both N-linked carbohydrates and sialic acid in its structure, with M r =34,000 under reducing conditions and pI∼6.4. The N-terminal sequence of the enzyme (VIGGDECDINEHPFL)...
Ostreolysin (Oly), a cytolytic and cardiotoxic protein from the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), is lethal for mice with an LD 50 of 1170μg/kg following intravenous application. Its cardiotoxicity is associated with hyperkalemia, which is probably a consequence of potassium released from the lysed cells. Moreover, sub-micromolar concentrations of Oly induce a concentration-dependent...
Two species of tree frog of the genus Litoria, namely L. splendida and L. rothii have been reported to change the compositions of their host-defence skin peptide profiles in summer and winter. L. splendida produces the potent smooth muscle active caerulein [pEQDY(SO 3 H)TGWMDF-NH 2 ] in summer, but in winter much of the caerulein is hydrolysed to the less active desulfated form; in...
Serious morbidity and mortality following snakebite injuries are common in tropical regions of the world. Although antivenom administration is clinically effective, it carries an important risk of early anaphylactic reactions, ranging from relatively benign nausea, vomiting, and urticaria to life-threatening angioedema, bronchospasm and hypotension. Currently, no adequately powered study has demonstrated...
Quantitative determination of the biological activity of botulinum toxin type A usually depends on the LD 50 method after intraperitoneal injection into mice. This method requires a large number of mice to determine the toxic activity at a high level of precision and 3–4 days to obtain the results. Techniques to replace the LD 50 method have been attempted at various institutes. As...
Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a cyanobacterial toxin increasingly found in drinking water sources worldwide. Toxicity studies have shown CYN can induce effects in a range of different cell types with primary hepatocytes consistently shown to be the most sensitive cellular model. How CYN enters the intracellular environment is not clear, although the size and hydrophilic nature of the toxin suggest it...
Membrane-damaging activity of Naja nigricollis toxin γ on phospholipid vesicles was attenuated by incorporation of cholesterol into phospholipid vesicles. Deprivation of cholesterol from erythrocyte membrane enhanced notably hemolytic activity of toxin γ, while the hemolytic activity of toxin γ on cholesterol-depleted erythrocytes decreased when cholesterol was restored to membrane. Phospholipid-binding...
Colonial spiders evolved a differential prey-capture behaviour in concert with their venom chemistry, which may be a source of novel drugs. Some highly active tetrahydro-β-carboline (THβC) toxins were recently isolated from the venom of the colonial spider Parawixia bistriata; the spiders use these toxins as part of their chemical arsenal to kill and/or paralyze preys. The major THβC compound isolated...
In the present study, we investigated the involvement of resident cell and inflammatory mediators in the neutrophil migration induced by chemotactic activity of a glucose/mannose-specific lectin isolated from Dioclea rostrata seeds (DrosL). Rats were injected i.p. with DrosL (125–1000μg/cavity), and at 2–96h thereafter the leukocyte counts in peritoneal fluid were determined. DrosL-induced a dose-dependent...
Actinia fragacea is commonly called the “strawberry” anemone because of the distinctive yellow or green spots displayed on its red column. Its venom contains several haemolytic proteins with a molecular mass of ∼20kDa that can be separated by ion-exchange column chromatography. One of them was purified to homogeneity and was named fragaceatoxin C (FraC). Its 15 N-terminal residues were identified...
We report the purification and biochemical/pharmacological characterization of two myotoxic PLA 2 (BbTX-II K49 PLA 2 homologue and BbTX-III PLA 2 ) from Bothrops brazili venom. Both were purified by a single chromatographic step on reverse phase HPLC, showing M r ∼14kDa for both myotoxins, showing high content of hydrophobic and basic amino acids as well as 14 half-cysteine...
A new l-amino acid oxidase (designated as DRS-LAAO) was purified from Daboia russellii siamensis venom by ion-exchange, gel filtration and affinity chromatographies. DRS-LAAO is a homodimeric enzyme with a molecular weight of 120.0kDa as measured by size exclusion chromatography and the monomeric molecular weight of 58.0kDa as measured by SDS-PAGE under both non-reducing and reducing conditions. The...
The accumulation of saxitoxins (STXs) in fish from freshwater aquaculture was investigated for the first time in the present study. Cyanotoxins have been monitored in liver and muscle samples of Oreochromis niloticus by chromatographic methods, both before and after the depuration process. The results show that tilapia can accumulate STXs. Our findings suggest that depuration with clean water is an...
The peptides Tx2-5 and Tx2-6, isolated from the whole venom of “armed-spider” Phoneutria nigriventer venom, are directly linked with the induction of persistent and painful erection in the penis of mammals. The erection induced by Tx2-6 has been associated with the activation of nitric oxide synthases. There is a scarcity of studies focusing on the outcome of Tx2-6 at the molecular level, by this...
Brevetoxins are polyether toxins produced by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis that are released into the air and are known to cause respiratory hemorrhage in manatees and irritation in humans. Brevetoxin has been previously reported to cause DNA breakage and chromosomal aberrations in in vitro cell assays. The toxin is subject to epoxidation reaction and the formation of nucleic acid adducts in cultured...
Cyanobacteria produce a wide range of potent toxins, including hepatotoxic microcystins. HPLC methods for microcystin analysis and purification almost invariably include acetonitrile in the elution gradient mobile phase. The recent, acute, global acetonitrile shortage requires that adequate methods are available for microcystin analysis and purification without the need for acetonitrile. Here we present...
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