Properties of Duvernoy's secretions from opisthoglyphous and aglyphous colubrid snakes.

Relatively little attention has been given to the biological properties of Duvernoy's secretions produced by opisthoglyphous and some aglyphous colubrid snakes. A review is presented of literature pertaining to these secretions. Most detailed analyses of Duvernoy's secretions and their biological properties have been performed since the late 1970s. The dispholidines, Dispholidus typus and Thelotornis sp., and the natricines, Rhabdophis tigrinus and R. subminiata, have received the most attention due to the high toxicity of their secretions and their medical importance. These species produce secretions with variably strong prothrombin-activating activity, defibrinating activity, and hemorrhagic potential. Boigines, and natricines other than Rhabdophis, produce secretions of low to moderate toxicity and are variably hemorrhagic and proteolytic. Xenodontines and homalopsines similarly show hemorrhagic potential with low to moderate toxicity. Neurotoxic activity has been reported only from secretions of the boigines, Boiga blandingi and B. irregularis and the xenodontine, Heterodon platyrhinos. These species produce secretions containing postsynaptically acting components. Analyses of some of these secretions have shown that enzymes common to many ophidian venoms such as phospholipases A and L-amino acid oxidase are uncommon in the colubrid secretions studied. This may be due to few studies assaying for multiple enzyme activities and/or the unavailability of many secretion samples for study. Methods of secretion extraction, storage, and assay are discussed. Projected future research and the adaptive implications of Duvernoy's secretions are considered.

Electric shocks are ineffective in treatment of lethal effects of rattlesnake envenomation in mice.

Electrical shocks, even crudely delivered from 'stun guns' and gasoline engine spark plugs, have been reported to be effective in the treatment of snake bite. We thus applied similar electric shocks to mice artificially injected with reconstituted rattlesnake venom at various LD50 multiples. Those envenomated mice treated with electric shock survived no better than the controls. We thus found no evidence that electric shocks crudely administered had any life saving effect in mice.

The unique Duvernoy's secretion of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis).

Recently, bites by the colubrid Boiga irregularis (brown tree snake) in infants and young children on Guam have produced severe systemic reactions which bear some resemblance to classical manifestations of neurotoxic venom poisoning. This study demonstrates that the Duvernoy's secretion which elicits these reactions is a remarkably simple venom secretion with comparatively low toxicity and generally weak enzymatic activity. The intravenous LD50 for Swiss-Webster mice was approximately 80 mg/kg; significant neurotoxic manifestations were not observed in mouse trials. Deaths of lethally challenged mice occurred within minutes of injection, and appeared to result from cardiopulmonary crises. Duvernoy's secretion yields, protein content, enzyme activities, electrophoretic data and toxicity characteristics of the secretion are presented.

Observations on white and yellow venoms from an individual southern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis helleri).

Biochemical differences in white and yellow venoms produced in the separate venom glands of an individual southern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis helleri) were investigated. Compared to the yellow venom, the white venom contained fewer low molecular weight components and was considerably less toxic. Although the exact LD50 was not determined, the white venom did not produce toxic effects in mice when injected i.v. at concentrations up to 10 mg/kg. The i.v. LD50 of the yellow venom was approximately 1.6 mg/kg. Both white and yellow venoms had hemorrhagic activity, but the white venom caused less intradermal hemorrhage in mice. No L-amino acid oxidase activity was measured in the white venom and protease and phospholipase A2 activities of the white venom were much less than in the yellow venom. The white and yellow venoms both produced myonecrosis at 1, 3 and 24 hr after i.m. injection into mice, however, there were some qualitative differences in the myonecrosis produced. When the venom samples were reacted against Wyeth's polyvalent (Crotalidae) antivenom using immunodiffusion, three precipitin bands formed against the yellow venom, whereas only one formed against the white venom. When reacted against an antiserum to myotoxin alpha from C. viridis viridis venom, both the white and yellow venoms produced one precipitin band each.

Delivery of Duvernoy's secretion into prey by the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis (Serpentes:Colubridae).

Many colubrid snakes, like the more venomous elapid and viperid snakes, can produce and inject an oral secretion that is toxic and may present a human health risk. However, colubrid oral toxins are produced in a Duvernoy's gland and delivered not through a hollow fang, but instead by long, often grooved teeth under low pressure. The possible role of Duvernoy's secretion in functions other than rapid killing of prey make it important to know how and where this secretion is delivered during a feeding strike. We used ELISA analysis to determine the quantity and proportional distribution of Duvernoy's secretion delivered into the integument compared to the viscera during a feeding strike by the colubrid snake Boiga irregularis. We determined that only about 54% (1-5 mg) of the secretion actually reached the viscera and that the rest remained in the integument. The amount reaching the viscera is about three to eight times the i.p. LD50 for mice, but these snakes depend more on constriction than toxins to kill their prey. Consequently, delivery of Duvernoy's secretion by B. irregularis is hypothesized to be part of a digestive function and its toxic properties a byproduct of this role.

Envenomation by a juvenile Malayan pit viper (Agkistrodon rhodostoma).

Following an accidental bite inflicted by a juvenile Malayan pit viper (Agkistrodon rhodostoma), the progress of envenomation was carefully monitored and subsequent laboratory work performed to determine the amount and quality of venom injected. Even a very small amount of venom from this species is capable of inducing noticeable local symptoms including edema, subcutaneous bleeding, and throbbing. Constitutional symptoms were present but minimal. The extent of inflammation present at any given time following envenomation was found to be a more accurate diagnostic signal than the speed with which it developed. This case is similar to that of bites by juveniles of other species of viperines and crotalines and may serve to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of bites by juvenile specimens of serpents in these families.

The role of the vomeronasal organ in rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis oreganus) predatory behavior.

During predatory behavior, rattlesnakes depend primarily upon thermal and visual cues to initially aim a strike. However, it has been hypothesized that prey-related odors sensed by the vomeronasal system act as releasing stimuli of the strike and that such vomodors are primary stimuli during poststrike trailing and swallowing of the envenomated rodent. To test this, northern Pacific rattlesnakes were rendered avomic by bilateral lesions of the vomeronasal nerves, and their vomic and avomic predatory behaviors were compared. Avomic rattlesnakes exhibited fewer strikes and complete elimination of trailing and swallowing behavior. These results support the hypothesis that vomodors sensed via the vomeronasal organ are capable of acting as releasing stimuli of selected rattlesnake predatory behaviors. Sensory input via the vomeronasal organ is important during prestrike/strike behavior, and it is a major route of sensory input during poststrike trailing and ingestion of envenomated prey.

Rattlesnake hunting behavior: correlations between plasticity of predatory performance and neuroanatomy.

Rattlesnakes may shift between visual (eyes) and infrared (facial pits) stimuli without significant loss of predatory performance during an envenomating strike. The relative equivalency of these proximate stimuli is correlated with the organization of the associated neural pathways in the central nervous system. Visual and infrared information, although gathered by different sensory organs, converges within the optic tectum in an orderly spatiotopical representation where bimodal neurons respond to both stimuli. In turn, the tectum sends efferent pathways directly to premotor areas (brainstem) and indirectly to motor areas (spinal cord) where axial muscles involved in the strike might be activated. On the other hand, rattlesnakes do not maintain a high level of equivalent predatory performance when switching between chemosensory stimuli i.e., olfactory, and vomeronasal information. Deprived of vomeronasal input, strikes drop by about half, and poststrike trailing is lost entirely. Surprisingly, compensation by switching to information delivered via an intact olfactory input does not occur, despite the convergence of chemosensory information within the central nervous system. Finally, the launch of a targeted, envenomating strike involves both these modalities: radiation reception (visual, infrared) and chemoreception (olfactory, vomeronasal). However, in the absence of chemosensory information, the radiation modalities do not completely compensate, nor does the animal maintain a high level of predatory performance. Similarly, in the absence of radiation information, the chemosensory modalities do not completely compensate, nor does the animal maintain a high level of predatory performance. The absence of compensation in this multimodal system is also correlated with an absence of convergence of radiation and chemical information, at least at the level of first and second-order neurons, in the central nervous system.

Scanning electron microscopic study of the effects of pressure on the luminal surface of the rabbit aorta.

The effects of pressure on the luminal surface of the rabbit aorta were investigated using the scanning electron microscope. The method followed was perfusion under hydrostatic pressure of a section of thoracic aorta, in vitro. The characteristic ridged pattern seen in sections fixed at zero hydrostatic pressure was to a large extent eliminated when fixation occurred at pressures equivalent to those experienced by the aorta at systole or diastole. This study suggests that the spiral ridged pattern is dependent upon the fixation pressure and may not be present in a normally functioning artery. Any attempts to characterize or interpret the appearance of the luminal arterial wall must take into account the effects of pressure.