Proteomics and immunoproteomics of Lonomia casanarensis and Lonomia orientoandensis venoms

Abstract

The genus Lonomia is known to cause severe envenomation in humans and even deadly accidents in Latin America, as accidental contact with the caterpillars releases hemotoxic venom that induces a severe hemorrhagic disorder. Most cases have been associated with two species, L. obliqua and L. achelous, with opposite venom activities over the coagulation pathway. However, other species have recently been involved in human accidents. Despite this, the current antivenom is based only on antigens from L. obliqua. This research aims to characterize the venom proteomes of two Lonomia species present in Colombia that are related to accidents: L. casanarensis and L. orientoandensis, see if there are differences between them, and study the immunoreactivity of an anti-Lonomia serum against these two species. Results show that toxins represent an important portion of the venom and that venom batches group according to species. Both species' venoms contain multiple toxin families previously reported in other Lonomia species and venomous animals, but with significant differences in the relative abundance of C-type lectins, hemolins, metallopeptidases, and serine peptidases between them. Lastly, immunoproteomic data shows anti - L. casanarensis serum cross-reactivity with L. orientoandensis venom and suggests that the polyclonal antibodies mainly recognized proteins similar to the procoagulant factor Losac and those belonging to the hexamerin family.