Publications by authors named "Jaime A Pereanez"

is a coral snake of public health concern in Colombia. Its venom is mainly composed of three-finger toxins (3FTxs), Mipartoxin-1 being the most abundant protein partially responsible for its lethal effect. In this work, we present the production of Mipartoxin-1 in a recombinant form and evaluate its immunogenic potential.

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Colombia encompasses three mountain ranges that divide the country into five natural regions: Andes, Pacific, Caribbean, Amazon, and Orinoquia. These regions offer an impressive range of climates, altitudes, and landscapes, which lead to a high snake biodiversity. Of the almost 300 snake species reported in Colombia, nearly 50 are categorized as venomous.

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HIV-1 infection is considered one of the major public health problems worldwide. Due to the limited access to antiretroviral therapy, the associated side effects, and the resistance that the virus can generate, it has become necessary to continue the development of new antiviral agents. The study aimed to identify potential antiviral agents for HIV-1 by evaluating the in vitro and in silico activity of 16 synthetic di-halogenated compounds derived from L-Tyrosine.

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In Colombia, the Micrurus genus comprises 30 species, including M. mipartitus and M. dumerilii, which are of major clinical relevance due to their wide geographical distribution and the number of snakebites inflicted by them.

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Article Synopsis
  • A review was conducted to update the list of drugs that can cause takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM), a condition often linked to stress and emotional triggers.
  • From April 2015 to May 2022, 184 manuscripts were reviewed, leading to the identification of 39 articles that recognized drugs associated with TCM, revealing a total of 72 drugs in this updated list.
  • While some of the identified drugs are known to cause sympathetic overstimulation, others in the list do not clearly correlate with this mechanism, indicating a need for further research.
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is a coral snake of clinic interest in Colombia. Its venom is mainly composed of phospholipases A being MdumPLA the most abundant protein. Nevertheless, species produce a low quantity of venom, which makes it difficult to produce anticoral antivenoms.

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The coralsnake Micrurus dumerilii (Elapidae) is reported to cause envenomings of medical importance. Previous studies characterized the protein composition of its venom, with phospholipase A (PLA) proteins the most abundant. However, it is unknown which venom components are responsible for its lethal toxicity.

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Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that causes extensive mortality and morbidity in rural communities. Antivenim sera are the currently approved therapy for snake bites; however, they have some therapeutic limitations that have been extensively documented. Recently, small molecule toxin inhibitors have received significant attention as potential alternatives or co-adjuvant to immunoglobulin-based snakebite therapies.

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Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a transient left ventricular dysfunction, normally triggered by emotional or physical stress, although it is also associated with to use of drugs, drug abuse, or some intoxications. In addition, TTC has been reported in some case reports derived from the exposure of patients to animal venoms, toxins or poisons, or bacterial infections. However, to date, a systematic assessment of TTC in clinical toxinology is lacking.

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Article Synopsis
  • In Colombia, rattlesnakes are involved in approximately 2.9% of annual snakebite incidents, with their venom predominantly consisting of crotoxin, which accounts for about 64.7% of the toxic components.
  • The Instituto Nacional de Salud produces a polyvalent antivenom for treating various snake envenomations, but its effectiveness against rattlesnake venom, particularly in terms of immunoreactivity and neutralization, has not been thoroughly assessed.
  • The study found that the antivenom showed variable recognition of crotoxin components and was effective in neutralizing specific venom activities, but improvements are needed in its recognition of certain toxins, indicating a need for enhanced antivenom production strategies
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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Snakebite envenoming is a public health problem of high impact in Central America. Bothrops asper, known as barba amarilla, terciopelo, and equis, is the snake species responsible for most snakebites in Central America. In this region, there is a long-standing tradition on the use of plants in the management of snakebites, especially in indigenous communities.

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Venoms of the viperid genus Bothrocophias, restricted to Colombia and Ecuador, are poorly known. Only a proteomic analysis of B. campbelli venom has been described.

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Snakebite is a neglected disease with a high impact in tropical and subtropical countries. Therapy based on antivenom has limited efficacy in local tissue damage caused by venoms. Phospholipases A (PLA) are enzymes that abundantly occur in snake venoms and induce several systemic and local effects.

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Snake bite envenoming is a public health problem that was recently included in the list of neglected tropical diseases of the World Health Organization. In the search of new therapies for the treatment of local tissue damage induced by snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), we tested the inhibitory activity of peptidomimetic compounds designed as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases on the activities of the SVMP Batx-I, from venom. The evaluated compounds show great potential for the inhibition of Batx-I proteolytic, hemorrhagic and edema-forming activities, especially the compound CP471474, a peptidomimetic including a hydroxamate zinc binding group.

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Snakebite envenomings are a global public health issue. The therapy based on the administration of animal-derived antivenoms has limited efficacy against the venom-induced local tissue damage, which often leads to permanent disability. Therefore, there is a need to find inhibitors against toxins responsible for local damage.

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Most of the snakebite envenomations in Central and South America are caused by species belonging to genus. Their venom is composed mainly by zinc-dependent metalloproteinases, responsible of the hemorrhage characteristic of these envenomations. The aim of this study was to determine the inhibitory ability of ten flavonoids on the in-vitro proteolytic activity of venom and on the hemorrhagic, edema-forming and myonecrotic activities of Batx-I, the most abundant metalloproteinase isolated from this venom.

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Small molecule inhibitors of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) could provide a means to rapidly halt the progression of local tissue damage following viperid snake envenomations. In this study, we examine the ability of candidate compounds based on a pentacyclic triterpene skeleton to inhibit SVMPs. We leverage molecular dynamics simulations to estimate the free energies of the candidate compounds for binding to BaP1, a P-I type SVMP, and compare these results with experimental assays of proteolytic activity inhibition in a homologous enzyme (Batx-I).

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The lipase and Triton X-100 mixture is common for stabilization, immobilization and application processes of these kinds of enzymes. The objective of this article was to study the structural behavior and catalytic performance of Thermomyces lanuginose lipase in the presence of Triton X-100 at 25 °C and different pHs. The structural changes were followed by circular dichroism, correlating them with the catalytic performance, which is reported as the initial lipase activity in the hydrolysis of p‑nitro phenyl butyrate at zero time and residual activity after 48 h of incubation in the absence or presence of surfactant, at the selected pHs.

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Betulinic acid (BA), Oleanolic acid (OA) and Ursolic acid (UA), are pentacyclic triterpenoids with widespread occurrence throughout the plant kingdom, these compounds are widely recognized by their pharmacological and biological properties, such as, anti-tumoral, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and hepatoprotective activity. In this work we determined the inhibitory ability of these compounds on the enzymatic, hemorrhagic, myotoxic and edema-inducing activities of Batx-I, a P-I metalloproteinase isolated from Bothrops atrox venom. BA, UA and OA inhibited the proteolytic activity of Batx-I on gelatin with IC values of 115.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pinostrobin, a flavanone from the plant Renealmia alpinia, was tested for its ability to inhibit the activities of a PLA2 enzyme from Crotalus durissus cumanensis venom, showing significant inhibitory effects on enzymatic, myotoxic, and edema-inducing activities.
  • The compound exhibited IC50 values of 1.76mM and 1.85mM for PLA2 activity, and could inhibit myotoxicity by up to 87% when administered before PLA2 exposure, although its effectiveness decreased when given afterward.
  • Investigative studies indicated that pinostrobin interacts directly with PLA2 by forming hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions with specific amino acid residues, providing insights into its mechanism of action
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Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis type 2 (FHL2) results from mutations in PRF1. We described two unrelated individuals who presented with FHL, in whom severely impaired NK cytotoxicity and decrease perforin expression was observed. DNA sequencing of PRF1 demonstrated that both were not only heterozygous for the p.

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Article Synopsis
  • Renealmia alpinia extracts, obtained through micropropagation and from wild forms, have demonstrated the ability to inhibit the toxic effects of Bothrops asper snake venom when administered prior to the venom injection in a mouse model.
  • The study revealed that both wild and in vitro extracts of R. alpinia significantly increased survival rates and reduced lethal activity at a dose of 75 mg/kg, effectively prolonging the survival time of mice.
  • Additionally, R. alpinia extracts showed a reduction in pulmonary hemorrhage and bleeding in organs like the heart and kidneys, indicating its potential as a protective agent against snakebite, which warrants further investigation.
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The biflavonoid morelloflavone has been reported as inhibitor of secretory PLA2s (phospholipases A2 from human synovial and bee venom sources); however, its capacity to interact and inhibit snake venom PLA2 activities has not been described. In this work we tested the inhibitory ability of morelloflavone on the enzymatic, anticoagulant, myotoxic and edema-inducing activities of a PLA2 isolated from Crotalus durissus cumanensis venom. The biflavonoid displayed IC50 values of 0.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The plant Renealmia alpinia has been used in folk medicine to treat snakebites in the northwest region of Colombia. In addition, it has been shown to neutralize edema-forming, hemorrhagic, lethal, and defibrin(ogen)ating activities of Bothrops asper venom. In this work, extracts of Renealmia alpinia obtained by micropropagation (in vitro) and from specimens collected in the wild were tested and compared in their capacity to inhibit enzymatic and toxic activities of a snake venom metalloproteinase isolated from Bothrops atrox (Batx-I) venom and a serine proteinase (Cdc SII) from Crotalus durissus cumanensis venom.

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Glycolic acid (GA) (2-Hydroxyethanoic acid) is widely used as chemical peeling agent in Dermatology and, more recently, as a therapeutic and cosmetic compound in the field of skin care and disease treatment. In this work we tested the inhibitory ability of glycolic acid on the enzymatic, hemorrhagic and edema-inducing activities of BaP1, a P-I metalloproteinase from Bothrops asper venom, which induces a variety of toxic actions. Glycolic acid inhibited the proteolytic activity of BaP1 on azocasein, with an IC₅₀ of 1.

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