A Kunitz-type FXa inhibitor affects tumor progression, hypercoagulable state and triggers apoptosis.

Cancer is linked to hypercoagulability, and many studies have shown that anticoagulant drugs affect tumor progression. In this study was demonstrated that the Amblyomin-X (which is a recombinant protein that exerts similarity to the Kunitz-type inhibitors and shows pro-apoptotic effects in different tumor cell lines) and heparin (a classic anticoagulant) have similar effects on cancer progression and on normalization of the hypercoagulable state. However, Amblyomin-X showed a distinct mechanism in triggering its effects in vitro, because it exerted a cytotoxic effect in cancer cells by inducing apoptosis and promoting cell cycle arrest.

Lonomia obliqua venom action on fibrinolytic system.

Accidental skin contact with the Lonomia caterpillar bristles causes a severe hemorrhagic syndrome. While fibrinolytic activation is considered to be the main cause of hemorrhage in Lonomia achelous envenomation, a consumptive coagulopathy was found to be a major component involved in the bleeding complications observed in patients envenomed by contact with Lonomia obliqua. Although we have previously observed that in L. obliqua envenomations, fibrinolysis activation appeared to be secondary to coagulation system activation, there are no reports regarding the ability of L. obliqua venom to activate directly fibrinolytic pathways. We examined the action of L. obliqua crude bristles extract (LOCBE) on several fibrinolytic system components. We demonstrated that LOCBE degraded the A-alpha fibrinogen chain only at high concentrations and after long incubation times. Under these conditions, LOCBE also induced prolongation of the fibrinogen clotting time, but no clot lysis was observed before 24 h. LOCBE did not contain t-PA- or u-PA-like activities. Gel filtration and SDS-PAGE showed that LOCBE did not induce FXIII digestion. In addition, no FXIII activity inhibition was detected by dansylcadaverin method. FXIII levels remained unchanged when FXIII was measured in fibrinogen-depleted LOCBE-treated rat plasma, suggesting that the observed 50% FXIII reduction in rats was related to consumption. In conclusion, our results clearly demonstrated that LOCBE did not display either FXIII inhibition or degradation nor fibrinolytic activity. Furthermore, although proteolytic activity on Aalpha fibrinogen chain was observed, cross-linked fibrin was not affected by LOCBE.

Angiostatin-like molecules are generated by snake venom metalloproteinases.

Angiostatin is a plasminogen-derived anti-angiogenic factor composed of its first four kringle structures. This molecule is generated by proteolytic cleavage of plasminogen by some proteolytic enzymes in vitro. Since venoms of viper snakes are a rich source of both serine- and metalloproteinase, we hypothesized that angiostatin-like polypeptides could be generated during the envenomation after snake bites and play a pathophysiological role in the local tissue damage and regeneration. Our results showed that crude venoms from several species of Bothrops snakes were able to generate angiostatin-like polypeptides and purified metalloproteinases but not serine proteinases from Bothrops jararaca and Bothrops moojeni venoms were responsible for their generation in vitro. The putative plasminogen cleavage sites by the crude venoms and purified proteinases were determined by N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the angiostatin-like molecules. Angiostatin-like peptides derived from human plasminogen digestion by jararhagin, a metalloproteinase isolated from B. jararaca venom, inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. These results indicate that angiostatin-like molecules can be generated upon snakebite envenomations and may account for the poor and incomplete regenerative response observed in the damaged tissue.