Danger in the Canopy. Comparative Proteomics and Bioactivities of the Venoms of the South American Palm Pit Viper Bothrops bilineatus Subspecies bilineatus and smaragdinus and Antivenomics of B. b. bilineatus (Rondônia) Venom against the Brazilian Pentabothropic Antivenom.

We report a structural and functional proteomics characterization of venoms of the two subspecies (Bothrops bilineatusbilineatus and B. b. smaragdinus) of the South American palm pit viper from the Brazilian state of Rondônia and B. b. smaragdinus from Perú. These poorly known arboreal and mostly nocturnal generalist predators are widely distributed in lowland rainforests throughout the entire Amazon region, where they represent an important cause of snakebites. The three B. bilineatus spp. venom samples exhibit overall conserved proteomic profiles comprising components belonging to 11 venom protein classes, with PIII (34-40% of the total venom proteins) and PI (8-18%) SVMPs and their endogenous tripeptide inhibitors (SVMPi, 8-10%); bradykinin-potentiating-like peptides (BBPs, 10.7-15%); snake venom serine proteinases (SVSP, 5.5-14%); C-type lectin-like proteins (CTL, 3-10%); phospholipases A2 (PLA2, 2.8-7.6%); cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP, 0.9-2.8%); l-amino acid oxidases (LAO, 0.9-5%) representing the major components of their common venom proteomes. Comparative analysis of the venom proteomes of the two geographic variants of B. b. smaragdinus with that of B. b. bilineatus revealed that the two Brazilian taxa share identical molecules between themselves but not with Peruvian B. b. smaragdinus, suggesting hybridization between the geographically close, possibly sympatric, Porto Velho (RO, BR) B. b. smaragdinus and B. b. bilineatus parental populations. However, limited sampling does not allow determining the frequency of this event. The toxin arsenal of the South American palm pit vipers may account for the in vitro recorded collagenolytic, caseinolytic, PLA2, l-amino acid oxidase, thrombin-like and factor X-activating activities, and the clinical features of South American palm pit viper envenomings, i.e., local and progressively ascending pain, shock and loss of consciousness, spontaneous bleeding, and profound coagulopathy. The remarkable cross-reactivity of the Brazilian pentabothropic SAB antivenom toward the heterologous B. b. bilineatus venom suggests that the paraspecific antigenic determinants should have been already present in the venom of the last common ancestor of the Bothrops ″jararaca″ and ″taeniatus″ clades, about 8.5 Mya in the mid-late Miocene epoch of the Cenozoic era. The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the data set identifiers PXD020043, PXD020026, and PXD020013.

Comparative characterization of Viperidae snake venoms from Perú reveals two compositional patterns of phospholipase A2 expression.

Snake species within the Bothrops complex (sensu lato) are of medical relevance in Latin America, but knowledge on their venom characteristics is limited, or even unavailable, for some taxa. Perú harbors 17 species of pit vipers, within the genera Bothrops, Bothriechis, Bothrocophias, Porthidium, Crotalus, and Lachesis. This study compared the venoms of twelve species, through chromatographic and electrophoretic profiles, as well as proteolytic and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities. Also, proteomic profiles were analyzed for nine of the venoms using a shotgun approach. Results unveiled conspicuous differences in the expression of venom PLA2s among species, six of them presenting scarce levels as judged by RP-HPLC profiles. Since most species within the bothropoid lineage possess venoms with high to intermediate abundances of this protein family, our findings suggest the existence of a phenotypic duality in the expression of venom PLA2s within the Bothrops (sensu lato) complex. Bothrops barnetti and Bothrocophias andianus venoms, very scarce in PLA2s, were shown to lack significant myotoxic activity, highlighting that the observed variability in PLA2 expression bears toxicological correlations with effects attributed to these proteins. Finally, an attempt to identify phylogenetic relationships of bothropoid species from Perú presenting low- or high-PLA2 venom phenotypes showed an interspersed pattern, thus precluding a simple phylogenetic interpretation of this venom compositional dichotomy.

Danger in the canopy. Comparative proteomics and bioactivities of the venoms of the South American palm pit viper bothrops bilineatus subspecies bilineatus and smaragdinus and antivenomics of B. b. bilineatus (Rondônia) venom against the Brazilian pentabothropic antivenom

We report a structural and functional proteomics characterization of venoms of the two subspecies (Bothrops bilineatusbilineatus and B. b. smaragdinus) of the South American palm pit viper from the Brazilian state of Rondônia and B. b. smaragdinus from Perú. These poorly known arboreal and mostly nocturnal generalist predators are widely distributed in lowland rainforests throughout the entire Amazon region, where they represent an important cause of snakebites. The three B. bilineatus spp. venom samples exhibit overall conserved proteomic profiles comprising components belonging to 11 venom protein classes, with PIII (34–40% of the total venom proteins) and PI (8–18%) SVMPs and their endogenous tripeptide inhibitors (SVMPi, 8–10%); bradykinin-potentiating-like peptides (BBPs, 10.7–15%); snake venom serine proteinases (SVSP, 5.5–14%); C-type lectin-like proteins (CTL, 3–10%); phospholipases A2 (PLA2, 2.8–7.6%); cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP, 0.9–2.8%); l-amino acid oxidases (LAO, 0.9–5%) representing the major components of their common venom proteomes. Comparative analysis of the venom proteomes of the two geographic variants of B. b. smaragdinus with that of B. b. bilineatus revealed that the two Brazilian taxa share identical molecules between themselves but not with Peruvian B. b. smaragdinus, suggesting hybridization between the geographically close, possibly sympatric, Porto Velho (RO, BR) B. b. smaragdinus and B. b. bilineatus parental populations. However, limited sampling does not allow determining the frequency of this event. The toxin arsenal of the South American palm pit vipers may account for the in vitro recorded collagenolytic, caseinolytic, PLA2, l-amino acid oxidase, thrombin-like and factor X-activating activities, and the clinical features of South American palm pit viper envenomings, i.e., local and progressively ascending pain, shock and loss of consciousness, spontaneous bleeding, and profound coagulopathy. The remarkable cross-reactivity of the Brazilian pentabothropic SAB antivenom toward the heterologous B. b. bilineatus venom suggests that the paraspecific antigenic determinants should have been already present in the venom of the last common ancestor of the Bothrops ″jararaca″ and ″taeniatus″ clades, about 8.5 Mya in the mid-late Miocene epoch of the Cenozoic era. The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the data set identifiers PXD020043, PXD020026, and PXD020013.

Three-finger toxins from the venom of Micrurus tschudii tschudii (desert coral snake): Isolation and characterization of tschuditoxin-I.

Venoms from Micrurus (New World coral snakes) display potent peripheral neurotoxicity which may cause death by respiratory paralysis, yet many are poorly or not characterized. The major venom components of coral snakes are three-finger toxins (3FTxs) and phospholipases A2, whose proportions vary among species. As a trend, venoms of Micrurus from South America contain high proportions of 3FTxs, in contrast to most North and Central American species. Micrurus tschudii tschudii, the 'Desert coral snake' from Perú, displays an extreme 3FTx-predominant venom phenotype, with ∼95% of its proteome belonging to this protein family. This study evaluated the toxicity of its major 3FTxs in mice. A lethal 3FTx, here named tschuditoxin-I, was purified and sequenced by MALDI-TOF-TOF and N-terminal degradation. Tschuditoxin-I showed highest similarity to MS-1, a short-chain α-neurotoxin from the aquatic, fish-eating coral snake M. surinamensis. The single amino acid substitution between these two toxins maps at the tip of the first ß-stranded 'finger' in the modeled structure of tschuditoxin-I, suggesting it may have a role in interaction with its target, which remains to be investigated. Owing to its lethal action, tschuditoxin-I is likely to be medically relevant in envenomings. In spite of its 74% sequence identity with an α-neurotoxin of M. nigrocinctus, an equine antivenom raised against venom of the latter did not immunorecognize tschuditoxin-I or M. t. tschudii venom by ELISA. This underscores the need of characterizing the biochemical and immunological properties of the main toxic components of Micrurus venoms, aiming to improve the limited para-specific coverage of current antivenoms.

La medicina complementaria en el tratamiento de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas: accidentes ofídicos / Complementary Medicine in treatment of neglected tropical diseases: Ophidian accidents

De acuerdo a la Organización Mundial de la Salud más de 1 billón de personas distribuidas en 149 países son afectadas por enfermedades tropicales desatendidas, ocasionando cuantiosos daños económicos, sociales y psicológicos a las personas afectadas, así como un elevado gasto estatal. El envenenamiento por mordedura de serpiente es una de las más desatendidas: se estima que anualmente de los casi 5 millones de mordeduras de serpiente que ocurren a nivel mundial, la mitad genera envenenamientos que ocasionarían entre 94-125 mil muertes, 400 mil amputaciones y otras secuelas severas. Por ello se realizó una búsqueda en Pubmed para identificar publicaciones en los que se hayan usado terapias complementarias o tradicionales o alguno de sus componentes. De los 142 artículos, 18 artículos fueron seleccionados por tratarse de estudios in-vivo para identificar el efecto antiofídico de los compuestos. Los estudios seleccionados se enfocaron en evaluar el efecto antihemorrágico (13/18), anti-edematoso (11/18), anti-necrotizante (5/18) y de reducción de letalidad (4/18). Se estudió el efecto de los compuestos en veneno de Bothrops atrox (6/18), Bothrops jararaca (5/18), Bothrops asper (3/18), Bothrops jararacussu (2/18), Bothrops erythromelas (2/18), Bothrops paulensis (1/18), Crotalus adamanteus (1/18), Crotalus durissus terrificus (1/18), y Lachesis muta (1/18). De las 24 plantas evaluadas, se encontró mayor cantidad de publicaciones sobre el efecto terapéutico de Bellucia dichotoma, Connarus favosus, Plathymenia reticulata, Jatropha gossypiifolia y Renealmia alpinia.

Venomic Analysis of the Poorly Studied Desert Coral Snake, Micrurus tschudii tschudii, Supports the 3FTx/PLA2 Dichotomy across Micrurus Venoms.

The venom proteome of the poorly studied desert coral snake Micrurus tschudii tschudii was unveiled using a venomic approach, which identified ≥38 proteins belonging to only four snake venom protein families. The three-finger toxins (3FTxs) constitute, both in number of isoforms (~30) and total abundance (93.6% of the venom proteome), the major protein family of the desert coral snake venom. Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s; seven isoforms, 4.1% of the venom proteome), 1-3 Kunitz-type proteins (1.6%), and 1-2 l-amino acid oxidases (LAO, 0.7%) complete the toxin arsenal of M. t. tschudii. Our results add to the growing evidence that the occurrence of two divergent venom phenotypes, i.e., 3FTx- and PLA2-predominant venom proteomes, may constitute a general trend across the cladogenesis of Micrurus. The occurrence of a similar pattern of venom phenotypic variability among true sea snake (Hydrophiinae) venoms suggests that the 3FTx/PLA2 dichotomy may be widely distributed among Elapidae venoms.

Can coca leaves contribute to improving the nutritional status of the Andean population?

BACKGROUND: Coca leaves (Erythroxylum coca) have been promoted as a food that could address the dietary deficiencies of the Andean population, but this is based on nutrient analyses of a small sample of leaves. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the nutritional potential of eight samples of coca leaves grown in different regions of Peru. METHODS: We used AOAC techniques to measure nutrients, nutrient inhibitors (phytate, polyphenols, oxalic acid, and fiber), and alkaloid concentrations, all expressed per 100 g dry weight (DW) of the ground leaves. Minerals were measured by inductively coupled lasma- mass spectrometry in n twondependent laboratories. RESULTS: The leaves contained protein, , 20.28 g/1 0DW with lysine as the limiting amino acid; n-cbetarotene, 3.51 mg/100gDW ; vitamin E, 16.72 mg/100gDW ; trace amounts of vitamin D; calcium, 990.18 and 1033.17 mg/100 gDW at two different laboratories; iron, 29.16 and 29.16 mg/100 gDW; zinc, 2.71 and 2.63 mg/100 gDW; and magnesium, 225.19 and 196.69 mg/l001gDW Cocaine was the principal alkaloid, with a concentration of 0.56 g/100 gDW; other alkaloids were also identified. The results were compared with those for other edible leaves. The nutrient contributions of coca powder (5 g) and bread made with coca were compared with those of normal portions of alternative foods. CONCLUSIONS: Two spoonfuls of coca leaf flour would satisfy less than 10% of dietary intakes for schoolchildren and adults for critical commonly deficient nutrients in the diet. Coca leaves do not provide nutritional benefits when eaten in the recommended quantities, and the presence of absorbable cocaine and other alkaloids may be potentially harmful; hence coca leaves cannot be recommended as a food.

Prevalence of smoking and other smoking related behaviors reported by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in four Peruvian cities.

INTRODUCTION: In 2004, Peru ratified the Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and in 2006 passed Law 28705 for tobacco consumption and exposure reduction. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) provides data on youth tobacco use for development of tobacco control programs. Findings from the GYTS conducted in four main cities in Peru in 2000 and 2003 are reported in this paper and can be used to monitor provisions of the WHO FCTC. METHODS: The GYTS is a school-based survey that uses a standardized methodology for sampling, questionnaire construction, field procedures, and data management. In total, 5,332 and 7,824 students aged 13 to 15 years participated in the 2000 and 2003 surveys conducted in Huancayo, Lima, Tarapoto and Trujillo. RESULTS: In both years, Lima had the highest lifetime (54.6% and 59.6%) and current use of tobacco (18.6% and 19.2%) of the four cities. According to gender, boys smoked more than girls and less than 20% of students initiated smoking before the age of 10. Among smokers, more than 60% bought their cigarettes in a store with no restriction for their age, and approximately 12% had ever been offered "free cigarettes". Around 90% of students were in favor of banning smoking in public places. Changes between 2000 and 2003 included an increase in the percentage of smokers who wanted to have a cigarette first thing in the morning in Tarapoto (from 0% to 1.2%) and a decrease in exposure to tobacco at home in Huancayo (from 23.7% to 17.8%) and Trujillo (from 27.8% to 19.8%) CONCLUSION: While few changes in tobacco use among youth have been observed in the GYTS in Peru, the data in this report can be used as baseline measures for future evaluation efforts. At this time, tobacco control efforts in Peru need to focus on enhancing Law 28705 to include enforcement of existing provisions and inclusion of new laws and regulations. Most of these provisions are required of all countries, such as Peru, that have ratified the WHO FCTC.

Prácticas de consumo de tabaco y otras drogas en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud de una universidad privada de Lima, Perú / Practices of tobacco consumption and other drugs among students of health´s sciences of a private university. Lima – Perú

Objetivos: identificar prácticas de consumo de tabaco y otras drogas en estudiantes de pregrado de ciencias de la salud. Metodología: estudio descriptivo transversal mediante encuesta autoaplicada en 2.074 estudiantes de 9 carreras de salud de una universidad privada de Lima - Perú. Resultados: la prevalencia de vida (PV) y el uso actual de tabaco fueron: 81.9 por ciento y 38.7 por ciento. El 15.6 por ciento de los estudiantes fumadores actuales, fuma o sintió ganas de fumar al despertar en la mañana. El 45.3 por ciento consume tabaco desde los 16 años, 25 por ciento fumó por primera vez en una fiesta y 45.8 por ciento sigue fumando en eventos sociales. En la última semana, 68.5 por ciento se expuso al humo ambiental de tabaco fuera del hogar. Existe una significativa asociación entre el hábito de fumar de padres, hermanos y amigos y el hecho de ser fumador o no fumador. La PV de alcohol: 94.3 por ciento, marihuana: 16.7 por ciento, pasta básica de cocaína: 7.5 por ciento y cocaína HCl: 7.6 por ciento. Conclusiones: se encontró una elevada PV de tabaco y otras drogas en los estudiantes. Edad de inicio: la adolescencia. Elevada exposición ambiental al tabaco fuera del hogar. Asociación entre consumo de tabaco en los padres y condición de fumador de los estudiantes.

North and South American Loxosceles spiders: development of a polyvalent antivenom with recombinant sphingomyelinases D as antigens.

We report the cloning of sphingomyelinase D (SMD) cDNA from Loxosceles reclusa, Loxosceles boneti and Loxosceles laeta into bacterial expression systems, as well as optimization of expression conditions so as to obtain soluble and active recombinant enzymes. The recombinant mature SMDs, tagged with a histidine tail at the N- or C-termini, were compared in terms of toxicity and enzymatic activity, and were used as immunogens for the production of monovalent antisera in rabbits and F(ab')(2) preparations in animals used for commercial antivenom production (horses). We performed studies on in vitro inhibition of enzymatic activity of natural venom preparations by antibodies generated against the tagged proteins. We also present and discuss the results of studies on the specific and para-specific in vivo protective potential of the rabbit and equine antibody preparations against the recombinant proteins themselves and natural venom preparations. Our conclusions support the feasibility of using recombinant SMDs for production and evaluation of polyvalent anti-Loxosceles antivenoms, and we offer data on the potential of paraspecific neutralization in the context of the antigenic groupings and the molecular phylogeny of those active SMDs for which amino acid sequence information is available.

[Colon and rectum signet-ring cell carcinoma in the National Institute of Neoplastic Diseases]. / Carcinoma de celulas en anillo de sello del colon y recto en el Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas.

OBJECTIVE: Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the colon and rectum is a rare form of adenocarcinoma of the large intestine. The purpose of this study was define the incidence, natural history and relation with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). METHODS: We reviewed the medical records and pathology of 28 patients with primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the colon and rectum seen at the Instituto de Enfermedades Neoplasicas (INEN), between 1991 and 2002. RESULTS: In the present study the incidence was 5.09% of large bowel adenocarcinoma. Most patients present with late stage disease (Dukes stage C and D). In most cases the signet ring cells diffusely infiltrated through all layers of the intestinal wall (Borrmann IV). Male to female ratio was of 1 : 1.5, mean age was 55.5 and median age was 57 years (range 11 - 83 years). CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of our data with the literature showed some differences that could be related with biological characteristics of our people and different applied inclusion criteria. We couldn't define the relation between HNPCC and primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the colon and rectum.

Secondhand tobacco smoke in public places in Latin America, 2002-2003.

CONTEXT: The success of measures to restrict smoking in indoor environments and the intensity of enforcement vary among countries around the world. In 2001, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched the Smoke-Free Americas Initiative to build capacity to achieve smoke-free environments in Latin America and the Caribbean. OBJECTIVE: To assess secondhand smoke concentrations in public places in the capital cities of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay in conjunction with the Smoke-Free Americas Initiative. DESIGN AND SETTING: Multicountry assessment of vapor-phase nicotine concentrations using a common protocol in all 7 Latin American countries. A total of 633 sampling devices were placed for 7 to 14 days in 1 hospital, 2 secondary schools, 1 city government building, 1 airport (2 in Argentina), and restaurants and bars in each country. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Concentrations of airborne nicotine. RESULTS: Airborne nicotine was detected in most (94%) of the locations surveyed. By country, Argentina and Uruguay had the highest median concentrations in most environments (eg, in hospitals: 1.33 [interquartile range [IQR], 0.51-3.12] microg/m3 and 0.8 [IQR, 0.30-1.69] microg/m3, respectively). Overall, bars and restaurants had the highest median concentrations (3.65 [IQR, 1.55-5.12] microg/m3 and 1.24 [IQR, 0.41-2.48] microg/m3, respectively). Nicotine concentrations were also found in a number of key, sentinel buildings, including 95% (155/163) of hospital samples (in the physicians' and nurses' stations the median was 0.27 [IQR, 0.02-1.94] microg/m3), schools, government buildings, and/or airports in most countries. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of airborne nicotine in critical locations in Latin America provides a basis for enforcing smoke-free initiatives and for strengthening the protection of the public from unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke.

Perfil de la mujer microcomercializadora de drogas en Lima-Perú / Women profile traffic drugs in Lima-Peru

La microcomercialización de drogas ilegales es un problema multifactorial, de proporciones crecientes y en el cual la participación de la mujer va incrementándose en los últimos años. Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal en el último trimestre de 1998, empleando una muestra no probabilística por conveniencia, mediante la aplicación de una encuesta a 173 mujeres internadas por tráfico ilícito de drogas (TID) en el Penal de Santa Mónica (Chorrillos, Lima). Los datos integrados en una base de datos fue analizada con el programa SPSS for Windows v. 10.0. Las conclusiones del estudio fueron que el perfil de la mujer microcomercializadora de drogas en Lima que ingresa al penal por TID, usualmente tiene relación conyugal y uno o más hijos, algún grado de estudios secundarios o primaria completa, vende sola y es detenida durante el microcomercio en su casa o en la calle. Solo una pequeña proporción de mujeres jóvenes (menores de 25 años) se dedican al tráfico internacional (burriers)

Perú: evaluación de la calidad de discos de sensibilidad antimicrobiana / Peru: assessment of the quality of anti-microbial sensitivity disc

Se evaluó la calidad de 24 lotes de discos de sensibilidad antimicrobiana de dos marcas, una de frabricación nacional y otra de fabricación extranjera (USA), ambas comercializadas en el mercado peruano, empleando la norma M2-A5 del NCCLS. Se evaluaron lotes de discos ß-lactámicos de Amoxicilina/AÁcido Clavulánico 20/10 µg, Ampicilina 10 µg, Cefotaxime 30 µg, Ceftazidime 30 µg, Ceftriaxone 30 µg, Cefuroxime 30 µg, Oxacilina 1 µg, Penicilina 10 UI, y lotes de discos no ß-lactámicos de Ácido Nalidíxico 30 µg, Amicacina 30 µg, Ciprofloxacina 5 µg, Clindamicina 2 µg, Cloranfenicol 30 µg, Eritromicina 15 µg, Estreptomicina 10 µg, Gentamicina 10 µg, Norfloxacina 10 µg, Vancomicina 30 µg, frente a Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 y Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, utilizando el Método Kirby-Bauer. Los diámetros de zona de inhibición antibiótica obtenidos experimentalmente fueron comparados con los valores indicados en la norma, utilizando la Prueba de Límites de Confianza. Sólo el 50 del total de los lotes de discos evaluados cumplieron satisfactoriamente los requisitos de la norma, mientras que el 66,7 de los lotes de discos de fabricación extranjera cumplió con dichos requisitos. El 50 de los lotes de discos nacionales y extranjeros (Amicacina, Estreptomicina y Gentamicina) presentaron comportamiento similar, (Prueba de Hipótesis sobre Promedios) poero sólo el lote de discos de Gentamicina de fabricación extranjera cumplió con la norma M2-A5. La elevada proporción de lotes de discos evaluados que obtuvieron resultados no conformes, plantea la necesidad de realizar un mayor número de evaluaciones a fin de conocer la real situación de la calidad de los discos de sensibilidad antimicrobiana disponibles en el Perú, debido a su particular importancia en el diagnóstico clínico

Estudio bioquímico del veneno de la serpiente Bothrops hyoprorus / Biochemical study of Bothrops hyoprorus`s venom

Se describe la purificación parcial de la enzima Fosfolipasa A del veneno de Bothrops hyoprorus y la caracterización de sus actividades hemolítica y citotóxica. La actividad fosfolipásica se detectó en dos fracciones de 23 y 12 Kd por cromatografía en Sephadex G-100 y G-50. Las actividades fosfolipásica y hemolítica fueron detectadas en las mismas fracciones. Los ensayos de Westernblot, sugieren que la fracción con 12 Kd es un producto de degradación, in vitro, del polipéptido mayor. La actividad citotóxica de la fracción fue evidente sólo a elevadas concentraciones, sugiriéndose que moléculas diferentes a Fosfolipasa A serían responsables del efecto citotóxico del veneno

Efectos de la irradiación neutrónica del uranio 235 sobre el veneno de Lachesis muta (Ofidia: Viperidae) / The effect neutron irradiation of Uranium 235 on the venom of Lachesis muta muta (Ofidia: Viperidae)

The effect of irradiation of the aqueous solution of L. m. muta venom was evaluated with thermic neutrons from Uranium-235 employing doses of 1.61 to 5.19 Gray. The venom was examined for protein content by the Folin Lowry Method modified by Stauffer; for acute toxicity by intraperitoneal route estimation in mice and for immunochemical tests by the antigen-antibody reactions evaluation. Neutronic radiation affects all evaluated parameters in venom (decrease in protein content levels, increase of LD50 values and decrease in the number of precipitating antigen-antibody) as shown by immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis

Actividad cicatrizante del látex de Jatropha curcas (Angiospermae: Euforbiaceae) / Cicatrization effect of Jatropha curcas latex (Angiospermae: Euforbiaceae)

The wound healing effects of Jathopha curcas latex upon surgical wound produced in Balb/c mice skin, were studied with a modification of the Hoowes-Sooy-Harvey method. The effects of topical treatment using single 50 ul doses of latex at different dilutions (10 per cent to 100 per cent) was compared with a multiple dose treatment (four 25 ul/dose q12h, latex 5 per cent to 100 per cent). The single dose treatment with 10 per cent, 50 per cent or 100 per cent latex and the multiple dose treatment with dilutions between 5 per cent and 10 per cent, have a healing effect but only on males. The multiple dose treatment with 50 per cent or pure undiluted latex produced caustic lesions to treated skin

Efectos de la liofilización sobre cuatro actividades biológicas del veneno de Bothrops atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae) / Effects of lyophilization on four biological activities of Bothrops atrox venom (Serpentes: Viperidae)

Fresh venom was obtained by milking both sexes of adult Bothrops atrox snakes. Four biological activities were studied in both fresh and freeze dried venom: local hemorrhagic in guinea pig skin, proteolytic upon casein (caseinolytic), esterasic upon TAME and fibrinogen clotting activity. All activities were detected in fresh venom: Hemorrhagic (DHM = 0.93, DHR = 9.75 micrograms protein), caseinolytic (0.25 U kunitz/mg protein), esterasic (0.70 U/mg protein) and clotting activity (75.7 U NIH/mg protein). After freeze drying, all the biological activity of B. atrox venom enzymes decreased: hemorrhagic, caseinolytic and clotting activity in 50 and the esterasic activity only in 15. Our results show that lyophylization decreases several important biological activities in snake venom related to a decrease in the venom enzymatic activities.