Analysis of the genus Bothrops snake venom: An inter and intraspecific comparative study
Thais Almeida de Godoy,
Eduardo Oliveira Venancio de Lima,
Giovanni Perez Machado Silveira,
Fabíola Souza Rodrigues,
Sávio Stefani Sant'anna,
Daniela Miki Hatakeyama,
Kathleen Fernandes Grego,
Anita Mitico Tanaka-Azevedo
Affiliations
Thais Almeida de Godoy
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, São Paulo, Brazil; Escola Superior do Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Eduardo Oliveira Venancio de Lima
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, São Paulo, Brazil
Giovanni Perez Machado Silveira
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Fabíola Souza Rodrigues
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Sávio Stefani Sant'anna
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Daniela Miki Hatakeyama
Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Kathleen Fernandes Grego
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Anita Mitico Tanaka-Azevedo
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, São Paulo, Brazil; Escola Superior do Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil; Corresponding author. Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, 1500 Vital Brasil Avenue, São Paulo, Brazil.
The genus Bothrops are considered Category 1 of medical importance by the World Health Organization, responsible for approximately 85 % of snakebites occurring throughout Brazil. Main factors determining snake venom variations can be genetics, diet, gender, geographic distribution, age, or even seasonality. In this study, we compared the composition of protein profile, biochemical activities, and immunorecognition of toxins present in the venom of eight adults of Bothrops species (B. alternatus, B. atrox, B. jararaca, B. jararacussu, B. leucurus, B. moojeni, B. neuwiedi and B. pauloensis). The following methods were used to analyze the venoms: protein dosage; electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel containing SDS; High Performance Liquid Chromatography – Reverse Phase; enzymatic activities, western blotting and Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay. The results show inter and intraspecific differences in the electrophoretic profile. LAAO and PLA2 activities, in general, were higher in males than females and proteolytic activity was higher in females than males. The bothropic antivenom produced by Instituto Butantan recognized most of the protein bands in all Bothrops species analyzed, with only the regions between 37 and 25 kDa presenting lower intensity. A notable variability in the chromatograms was observed. Bothrops venom demonstrated inter-intraspecific disparities in protein composition and biochemical activity.
