Bat-derived oligopeptide LE6 inhibits the contact-kinin pathway and harbors anti-thromboinflammation and stroke potential.

Thrombosis and inflammation are primary contributors to the onset and progression of ischemic stroke. The contact-kinin pathway, initiated by plasma kallikrein (PK) and activated factor XII (FXIIa), functions bidirectionally with the coagulation and inflammation cascades, providing a novel target for therapeutic drug development in ischemic stroke. In this study, we identified a bat-derived oligopeptide from Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797), designated LE6 (Leu-Ser-Glu-Glu-Pro-Glu, 702 Da), with considerable potential in stroke therapy due to its effects on the contact kinin pathway. Notably, LE6 demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on PK and FXIIa, with inhibition constants of 43.97 µmol/L and 6.37 µmol/L, respectively. In vitro analyses revealed that LE6 prolonged plasma recalcification time and activated partial thromboplastin time. In murine models, LE6 effectively inhibited carrageenan-induced mouse tail thrombosis, FeCl 3-induced carotid artery thrombosis, and photochemically induced intracerebral thrombosis. Furthermore, LE6 significantly decreased inflammation and stroke injury in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion models. Notably, the low toxicity, hemolytic activity, and bleeding risk of LE6, along with its synthetic simplicity, underscore its clinical applicability. In conclusion, as an inhibitor of FXIIa and PK, LE6 offers potential therapeutic benefits in stroke treatment by mitigating inflammation and preventing thrombus formation.

Blap-6, a Novel Antifungal Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera against Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is a pathogenic fungus that can cause life-threatening meningitis, particularly in individuals with compromised immune systems. The current standard treatment involves the combination of amphotericin B and azole drugs, but this regimen often leads to inevitable toxicity in patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new antifungal drugs with improved safety profiles. We screened antimicrobial peptides from the hemolymph transcriptome of Blaps rhynchopetera (B. rhynchopetera), a folk Chinese medicine. We found an antimicrobial peptide named blap-6 that exhibited potent activity against bacteria and fungi. Blap-6 is composed of 17 amino acids (KRCRFRIYRWGFPRRRF), and it has excellent antifungal activity against C. neoformans, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.81 µM. Blap-6 exhibits strong antifungal kinetic characteristics. Mechanistic studies revealed that blap-6 exerts its antifungal activity by penetrating and disrupting the integrity of the fungal cell membrane. In addition to its direct antifungal effect, blap-6 showed strong biofilm inhibition and scavenging activity. Notably, the peptide exhibited low hemolytic and cytotoxicity to human cells and may be a potential candidate antimicrobial drug for fungal infection caused by C. neoformans.

Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function.

Drug resistance against bacteria and fungi has become common in recent years, and it is urgent to discover novel antimicrobial peptides to manage this problem. Many antimicrobial peptides from insects have been reported to have antifungal activity and are candidate molecules in the treatment of human diseases. In the present study, we characterized an antifungal peptide named blapstin that was isolated from the Chinese medicinal beetle Blaps rhynchopetera used in folk medicine. The complete coding sequence was cloned from the cDNA library prepared from the midgut of B. rhynchopetera. It is a 41-amino-acid diapause-specific peptide (DSP)-like peptide stabilized by three disulfide bridges and shows antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichophyton rubrum with MICs of 7 µM and 5.3 µM, respectively. The C. albicans and T. rubrum treated with blapstin showed irregular and shrunken cell membranes. In addition, blapstin inhibited the activity of C. albicans biofilm and showed little hemolytic or toxic activity on human cells and it is highly expressed in the fat body, followed by the hemolymph, midgut, muscle, and defensive glands. These results indicate that blapstin may help insects fight against fungi and showed a potential application in the development of antifungal reagents. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans is one of the conditional pathogenic fungi causing severe nosocomial infections. Trichophyton rubrum and other skin fungi are the main pathogens of superficial cutaneous fungal diseases, especially in children and the elderly. At present, antibiotics such as amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and fluconazole are the main drugs for the clinical treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections. However, these drugs have certain acute toxicity. Long-term use can increase kidney damage and other side effects. Therefore, obtaining broad-spectrum antifungal drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity for the treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections is a top priority. Blapstin is an antifungal peptide which shows activity against C. albicans and T. rubrum. The discovery of blapstin provides a novel clue for our understanding of the innate immunity of Blaps rhynchopetera and provides a template for designing antifungal drugs.

Identification and characterization of a novel elastase inhibitor from Hirudinaria manillensis.

A large number of protease inhibitors have been found from leeches, which are essential in various physiological and biological processes. In the curret study, a novel elastase inhibitor was purified and characterized from the leech of Hirudinaria manillensis, which was named HMEI-A. Primary structure analysis showed that HMEI-A belonged to a new family of proteins. HMEI-A exerted inhibitory effects on elastase and showed potent abilities to inhibit elastase with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 1.69 × 10-8 mol·L-1. Further study showed that HMEI-A inhibited the formation of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET). These results suggested that HMEI-A from the leech of H. manillensis is a novel elastase inhibitor which can suppress NET formation. It may play a significant role in blood-sucking of leeches and is a potential candidate as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Protease inhibitor in scorpion (Mesobuthus eupeus) venom prolongs the biological activities of the crude venom.

It is hypothesized that protease inhibitors play an essential role in survival of venomous animals through protecting peptide/protein toxins from degradation by proteases in their prey or predators. However, the biological function of protease inhibitors in scorpion venoms remains unknown. In the present study, a trypsin inhibitor was purified and characterized from the venom of scorpion Mesobuthus eupeus, which enhanced the biological activities of crude venom components in mice when injected in combination with crude venom. This protease inhibitor, named MeKTT-1, belonged to Kunitz-type toxins subfamily. Native MeKTT-1 selectively inhibited trypsin with a Kivalue of 130 nmol·L(-1). Furthermore, MeKTT-1 was shown to be a thermo-stable peptide. In animal behavioral tests, MeKTT-1 prolonged the pain behavior induced by scorpion crude venom, suggesting that protease inhibitors in scorpion venom inhibited proteases and protect the functionally important peptide/protein toxins from degradation, consequently keeping them active longer. In conclusion, this was the first experimental evidence about the natural existence of serine protease inhibitor in the venom of scorpion Mesobuthus eupeus, which preserved the activity of venom components, suggests that scorpions may use protease inhibitors for survival.

A Novel Trypsin Inhibitor-Like Cysteine-Rich Peptide from the Frog Lepidobatrachus laevis Containing Proteinase-Inhibiting Activity.

Various bio-active substances in amphibian skins play important roles in survival of the amphibians. Many protease inhibitor peptides have been identified from amphibian skins, which are supposed to negatively modulate the activity of proteases to avoid premature degradation or release of skin peptides, or to inhibit extracellular proteases produced by invading bacteria. However, there is no information on the proteinase inhibitors from the frog Lepidobatrachus laevis which is unique in South America. In this work, a cDNA encoding a novel trypsin inhibitor-like (TIL) cysteine-rich peptide was identified from the skin cDNA library of L. laevis. The 240-bp coding region encodes an 80-amino acid residue precursor protein containing 10 half-cysteines. By sequence comparison and signal peptide prediction, the precursor was predicted to release a 55-amino acid mature peptide with amino acid sequence, IRCPKDKIYKFCGSPCPPSCKDLTPNCIAVCKKGCFCRDGTVDNNHGKCVKKENC. The mature peptide was named LL-TIL. LL-TIL shares significant domain similarity with the peptides from the TIL supper family. Antimicrobial and trypsin-inhibitory abilities of recombinant LL-TIL were tested. Recombinant LL-TIL showed no antimicrobial activity, while it had trypsin-inhibiting activity with a Ki of 16.5178 µM. These results suggested there was TIL peptide with proteinase-inhibiting activity in the skin of frog L. laevis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of TIL peptide from frog skin.

Purification and characterization of cholecystokinin from the skin of salamander Tylototriton verrucosus.

As a group of intestinal hormones and neurotransmitters, cholecystokinins (CCKs) regulate and affect pancreatic enzyme secretion, gastrointestinal motility, pain hypersensitivity, digestion and satiety, and generally contain a DYMGWMDFG sequence at the C-terminus. Many CCKs have been reported in mammals. However, only a few have been reported in amphibians, such as Hyla nigrovittata, Xenopus laevis, and Rana catesbeiana, with none reported in urodele amphibians like newts and salamanders. Here, a CCK called CCK-TV was identified and characterized from the skin of the salamander Tylototriton verrucosus. This CCK contained an amino acid sequence of DYMGWMDF-NH2 as seen in other CCKs. A cDNA encoding the CCK precursor containing 129 amino acid residues was cloned from the cDNA library of T. verrucosus skin. The CCK-TV had the potential to induce the contraction of smooth muscle strips isolated from porcine gallbladder, eliciting contraction at a concentration of 5.0 x 10⁻¹¹ mol/L and inducing maximal contraction at a concentration of 2.0 x 10⁻6 mol/L. The EC50 was 13.6 nmol/L. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the presence of a CCK in an urodele amphibian.

Jerdonuxin, a novel snaclec (snake C-type lectin) with platelet aggregation activity from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom.

Serious clinical symptoms of Trimeresurus jerdonii bite are mainly caused by abnormalities of blood system. We have previously identified and characterized several bioactive components affecting human blood system, such as serine proteases, metalloproteinases and disintegrins. But few snaclec was characterized in the T. jerdonii venom. In this study, a novel snaclec, named jerdonuxin, was isolated, molecular cloned and characterized as a human platelet agonist. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, jerdonuxin showed a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 120 kDa under non-reducing conditions and two distinct bands with apparent molecular weights of 18 kDa (α-subunit) and 14 kDa (ß-subunit) under reducing conditions. The cDNA sequence of each subunit of jerdonuxin was identified. The precursors of both subunits contain a 23-amino acid residue signal peptide and the mature proteins are composed of 135 and 125 amino acids for α- and ß-subunits, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of each subunit determined by Edman degradation were consistent with deduced amino acid sequences of cDNA. Jerdonuxin dose-dependently induced human platelet aggregation. The phosphorylation profile pattern induced by jerdonuxin showed similar with mucetin (a platelet agonist via glycoprotein Ib), but different from stejnulxin (an agonist via glycoprotein VI). The jerdonuxin-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited by the anti-GPIbα or anti-GPIIb polyclonal antibodies, but not by anti-GPVI polyclonal antibodies. In summary, a novel snaclec of platelet agonist was purified and characterized from the T. jerdonii venom and our data also suggested that GPIb was involved in jerdonuxin-induced platelet aggregation.

[Animal toxins and human disease: from single component to venomics, from biochemical characterization to disease mechanisms, from crude venom utilization to rational drug design].

Many animals produced a diversity of venoms and secretions to adapt the changes of environments through the long history of evolution. The components including a large quantity of specific and highly active peptides and proteins have become good research models for protein structure-function and also served as tools and novel clues for illustration of human disease mechanisms. At the same time, they are rich natural resources for new drug development. Through the valuable venomous animal resources of China, researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS have carried out animal toxin research over 30 years. This paper reviews the main work conducted on snake venoms, amphibian and insect secretions, and the development from single component to venomics, from biochemical characterization to human disease mechanisms, from crude venom to rational drug design along with a short perspective on future studies.

Purification and characterization of a new L-amino acid oxidase from Daboia russellii siamensis venom.

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 120.0 kDa as measured by size exclusion chromatography and the monomeric molecular weight of 58.0 kDa as measured by SDS-PAGE under both non-reducing and reducing conditions. The N-terminal amino acid sequence (ADDKNPLEECFREDD) of DRS-LAAO shares high identity with other snake venom L-amino acid oxidases, especially with those isolated from viperid venoms. The enzyme displayed high specificity towards hydrophobic L-amino acids. The best substrate of DRS-LAAO was L-Leu followed by L-Phe and L-Ile, while five substrates--L-Pro, L-Asn, L-Gly, L-Ser and L-Cys were not oxidized. Optimal pH of DRS-LAAO was 8.8. The enzyme showed no hemorrhagic activity even at a dosage of 55.0 microg. DRS-LAAO dose-dependently inhibited platelet aggregation induced by ADP (83.33 microM) and TMVA (55.0 nM) with an IC(50) value of 32.8 microg/ml and 32.3 microg/ml, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of DRS-LAAO against Staphylococci aureus (ATCC 25923), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) were 9.0, 144.0 and 288.0 microg/ml, respectively. The minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of the enzyme for these strains were twice of the MIC values. These results showed that DRS-LAAO had the strongest antimicrobial activity against S. aureus among these three international standard stains. Antibacterial-activities of DRS-LAAO against eight clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates were also tested. The MICs of DRS-LAAO against these isolates ranged from 4.5 to 36.0 microg/ml. And the MBCs of the enzyme against these isolates ranged from 9.0 to 72.0 microg/ml.

Molecular characterization of a weak fibrinogen-clotting enzyme from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom.

A fibrinogen-clotting enzyme designed as jerdonobin-II was isolated from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii. It differed in molecular weight and N-terminal sequence with the previously isolated jerdonobin, a thrombin-like enzyme from the same venom. The enzyme consists of a single polypeptide chain with molecular weights of 30,000 and 32,000 under non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively. Jerdonobin-II showed weak fibrinogen clotting activity and its activity unit on fibrinogen was calculated to be less than one unit using human thrombin as standard. The precursor protein sequence of jerodonobin-II was deduced from cloned cDNA sequence. The sequence shows high similarity (identity=89%) to TSV-PA, a specific plasminogen activator from venom of T. stejnegeri. Despite of the sequence similarity, jerdonobin-II was found devoid of plasminogen activating effect. Sequence alignment analysis suggested that the replacement of Lys239 in TSV-PA to Gln239 in jerdonobin-II might play an important role on their plasminogen activating activity difference.

A novel disintegrin, jerdonatin, inhibits platelet aggregation and sperm-egg binding.

A novel disintegrin, jerdonatin, was purified to homogeneity from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom by gel filtration and reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. We isolated the cDNA encoding jerdonatin from the snake venom gland. Jerdonatin cDNA precursor encoded pre-peptide, metalloprotease and disintegrin domain. Jerdonatin is composed of 72 amino acid residues including 12 cysteines and the tripeptide sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), a well-known characteristic of the disintegrin family. Molecular mass of jerdonatin was determined to be 8011 Da by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Jerdonatin inhibited ADP- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation with IC50 of 123 and 135 nM, respectively. We also investigated the effect of jerdonatin on the binding of B6D2F1 hybrid mice spermatozoa to mice zona-free eggs and their subsequent fusion. Jerdonatin significantly inhibited sperm-egg binding in a concentration-dependent manner, but had no effect on the fusion of sperm-egg. These results indicate that integrins on the egg play a role in mammalian fertilization.

A novel high molecular weight metalloproteinase cleaves fragment F1 of activated human prothrombin.

A hemorrhagic proteinase, jerdohagin, was purified from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatographies. It was a single chain polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 96 kDa as estimated by SDS-PAGE under the non-reducing and reducing conditions. Internal peptide sequencing indicated that it consisted of metalloproteinase, disintegrin-like and cysteine-rich domains and belonged to the class III snake venom metalloproteinases (class P-III SVMPs). Like other typical metalloproteinases, hemorrhagic activities of jerdohagin were completely inhibited by EDTA, but not by PMSF. Jerdohagin preferentially degraded alpha-chain of human fibrinogen. Interestingly, jerdohagin did not activate human prothrombin, whereas it cleaved human prothrombin and fragment F1 of activated human prothrombin.

Purification, cloning and biological characterization of a novel disintegrin from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom.

A novel disintegrin, jerdonin, was purified from the Trimeresurus jerdonii venom by means of gel filtration and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Its coding cDNA was also isolated from the venom gland. The jerdonin coding cDNA is part of a precursor composed of proprotein, metalloproteinase, and disintegrin domains. From the deduced amino acid sequence, jerdonin is composed of 71 amino acid residues including 12 cysteines and the tripeptide sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), a well-known characteristic of the disintegrin family. Molecular mass of jerdonin was determined to be 7483Da by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Jerdonin inhibited ADP- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation with IC(50) of 220 and 240 nM, respectively. In vivo, jerdonin inhibited the growth of subcutaneously inoculated B16 solid tumor in C57BL/6 mice and improved the survival time of the tumor-bearing mice.

Purification, characterization and primary structure of a chymotrypsin inhibitor from Naja atra venom.

A chymotrypsin inhibitor, designated NA-CI, was isolated from the venom of the Chinese cobra Naja atra by three-step chromatography. It inhibited bovine alpha-chymotrypsin with a Ki of 25 nM. The molecular mass of NA-CI was determined to be 6403.8 Da by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis. The complete amino acid sequence was determined after digestion of S-carboxymethylated inhibitor with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and porcine trypsin. NA-CI was a single polypeptide chain composed of 57 amino acid residues. The main contact site with the protease (P1) has a Phe, showing the specificity of the inhibitor. NA-CI shared great similarity with the chymotrypsin inhibitor from Naja naja venom (identities=89.5%) and other snake venom protease inhibitors.

A new protein structure of P-II class snake venom metalloproteinases: it comprises metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains.

A new metalloproteinase-disintegrin, named Jerdonitin, was purified from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom with a molecular weight of 36 kDa on SDS-PAGE. It dose-dependently inhibited ADP-induced human platelet aggregation with IC(50) of 120nM. cDNA cloning and sequencing revealed that Jerdonitin belonged to the class II of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) (P-II class). Different from other P-II class SVMPs, metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains of its natural protein were not separated, confirmed by internal peptide sequencing. Compared to other P-II class SVMPs, Jerdonitin has two additional cysteines (Cys219 and Cys238) located in the spacer domain and disintegrin domain, respectively. They probably form a disulfide bond and therefore the metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains cannot be separated by posttranslationally processing. In summary, comparison of the amino acid sequences of Jerdonitin with those of other P-II class SVMPs by sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, in conjunction with natural protein structure data, suggested that it was a new type of P-II class SVMPs.

Stejnulxin, a novel snake C-type lectin-like protein from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom is a potent platelet agonist acting specifically via GPVI.

Stejnulxin, a novel snake C-type lectin-like protein with potent platelet activating activity, was purified and characterized from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom. Under non-reducing conditions, it migrated on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel with an apparent molecular mass of 120 kDa. On reduction, it separated into three polypeptide subunits with apparent molecular masses of 16 kDa (alpha), 20 kDa (beta1) and 22 kDa (beta2), respectively. The complete amino acid sequences of its subunits were deduced from cloned cDNAs. The N-terminal sequencing and cDNA cloning indicated that beta1 and beta2 subunits of stejnulxin have identical amino acid sequences and each contains two N-glycosylation sites. Accordingly, the molecular mass difference between beta1 and beta2 is caused by glycosylation heterogenity. The subunit amino acid sequences of stejnulxin are similar to those of convulxin, with sequence identities of 52.6% and 66.4% for the alpha and beta, respectively. Stejnulxin induced human platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. Antibodies against alphaIIbbeta3 inhibited the aggregation response to stejnulxin, indicating that activation of alphaIIbbeta3 and binding of fibrinogen are involved in stejnulxin-induced platelet aggregation. Antibodies against GPIbalpha or alpha2beta1 as well as echicetin or rhodocetin had no significant effect on stejnulxin-induced platelet aggregation. However, platelet activation induced by stejnulxin was blocked by anti-GPVI antibodies. In addition, stejnulxin induced a tyrosine phosphorylation profile in platelets that resembled that produced by convulxin. Biotinylated stejnulxin bound specifically to platelet membrane GPVI.

Alpha-neurotoxins of Naja atra and Naja kaouthia snakes in different regions.

Recent studies have shown that there are geographic variation of alpha-neurotoxins in Naja kaouthia, but the cause is not clear yet. In this work, venoms were collected from adult Naja atra in Zhejiang Province and Naja kaouthia in Yunnan Province, well identified by morphological characters and cytochrome b gene analysis in summer season to avoid age and seasonal variation in the venom composition. Then alpha-neurotoxins were purified and cloned from these two kinds of snakes. Three alpha-neurotoxins from Naja kaouthia (Yunnan) and two from Naja atra (Zhejiang) were identified. Together with previously reported alpha-neurotoxins in Naja kaouthia (Thailand) and Naja atra (Taiwan Province), it was found that the alpha-neurotoxins of Naja kaouthia in Yunnan Province were similar to those of Naja atra in Zhejiang and Taiwan Provinces, but different from those of Naja kaouthia in Thailand. This result can hardly be explained by population phylogeny or geographic distance. It might be due to the different climate, habitat and prey in Thailand in comparison with those in Yunnan, Zhejiang and Taiwan Provinces.

Jerdonase, a novel serine protease with kinin-releasing and fibrinogenolytic activity from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom.

A novel kinin-releasing and fibrin(ogen)olytic enzyme termed jerdonase was purified to homogeneity from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii by DEAE Sephadex A-50 anion exchange, Sephadex G-100 (superfine) gel filtration and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Jerdonase migrated as a single band with an approximate molecular weight of 55 kD under the reduced conditions and 53 kD under the non-reduced conditions. The enzyme was a glycoprotein containing 35.8% neutral carbohydrate. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of jerdonase was determined to be IIGGDECNINEHPFLVALYDA, which showed high sequence identity to other snake venom serine proteases. Jerdonase catalyzed the hydrolysis of BAEE, S-2238 and S-2302, which was inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), but not affected by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Jerdonase preferentially cleaved the A alpha-chain of human fibrinogen with lower activity towards B beta-chain. Moreover, the enzyme hydrolyzed bovine low-molecular-mass kininogen and releasing bradykinin. In conclusion, all results indicated that jerdonase was a multifunctional venom serine protease.

Purification, characterization and biological activity of an L-amino acid oxidase from Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus venom.

An L-amino acid oxidase (TM-LAO) from the venom of Hunan Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus was purified to homogeneity by three steps including DEAE Sephadex A-50 ion-exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and Resource Q ion-exchange chromatography. TM-LAO is composed of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 55 kD by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight was different with that of LAO purified from the same species distributed in Taiwan that was 70 kD. The 24 N-terminal amino acid sequence of TM-LAO is ADNKNPLEECFRETNYEEFLEIAR, which shares high similarity with other Viperid snake venom LAOs and has moderate similarity with Elapid snake venom LAOs. Further studies found that TM-LAO inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aurues and B. dysenteriae. TM-LAO also showed cytotoxicity and platelet aggregation activity. All the biological activities were eliminated by catalase, a H(2)O(2) scavenger. It was shown that these biological effects were possibly due to the formation of H(2)O(2) produced by TM-LAO.