Article
Hemostatic and toxinological diversities in venom of Micrurus tener tener, Micrurus fulvius fulvius and Micrurus isozonus coral snakes
Autor
Salazar, AM
Vivas, J
Sánchez, EE
Rodríguez-Acosta, Alexis
Guerrero, B
Institución
Resumen
The coral snake Micrurus tener tener (Mtt) from the Elapidae family inhabits the southwestern
United States and produces severe cases of envenomations. Although the majority of Mtt venom
components are neurotoxins and phospholipase A2s, this study demonstrated, by SDS-PAGE and
molecular exclusion chromatography (MEC), that these venoms also contain high-molecular-
weight proteins between 50 and 150 kDa that target the hemostatic system. The biological aspects
of other Micrurus venoms were also studied, such as the LD50s of Micrurus isozonus (from 0.52
to 0.61 mg/kg). A pool from these venoms presented a LD50 of 0.57 mg/kg, Micrurus f. fulvius
(Mff) and Mtt had LD50s of 0.32 and 0.78 mg/kg, respectively. These venoms contained
fibrino(geno)lytic activity, they inhibited platelet aggregation, as well as factor Xa and/or plasmin-
like activities. M. isozonus venoms from different Venezuelan geographical regions inhibited
ADP-induced platelet aggregation (from 50 to 68%). Micrurus tener tener venom from the United
States was the most active with a 95.2% inhibitory effect. This venom showed thrombin-like
activity on fibrinogen and human plasma. Fractions of Mtt showed fibrino(geno)lytic activity and
inhibition on plasmin amidolytic activity. Several fractions degraded the fibrinogen Aα chains,
and fractions F2 and F7 completely degraded both fibrinogen Aα and Bβ chains. To our
knowledge, this is the first report on thrombin-like and fibrino(geno)lytic activity and plasmin or
factor Xa inhibitors described in Micrurus venoms. Further purification and characterization of
these Micrurus venom components could be of therapeutic use in the treatment of hemostatic
disorders. This research was supported by FONACIT grant (G-2005000400), Caracas, Venezuela, and funds from Texas
A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas, U.S.A.