Publications by authors named "Leonel Montealegre-Sanchez"

Objective: The expansion of human activities in northern Colombia has increased human-snake encounters, particularly with venomous . Given the limited knowledge of systemic envenomation effects and previous studies focusing only on early murine symptoms, this investigation aimed to describe the time-course physiopathology of envenomation following intramuscular injection .

Methods: Venom was inoculated in the gastrocnemius muscles of Swiss Webster mice, and blood, urine, and tissue samples were taken at different times to evaluate lethality and biochemical markers of renal function and oxidative stress.

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The antitumor potential of proteins from snake venoms has been studied in recent decades, and evidence has emerged that phospholipases A can selectively attack cells of various types of tumors. Previous results have shown that phospholipase A ", isolated from snake venom, displayed antitumoral activity on cervical cancer and did not alter the viability of non-tumorigenic cells. However, until now, there was no evidence of its safety at the local and systemic levels, nor had experiments been developed to demonstrate that its production using recombinant technology allows us to obtain a molecule with effects similar to those generated by native phospholipase.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Advances in chemotherapy for cervical cancer often harm patients' quality of life, creating a need for safer, natural therapy alternatives.
  • - A phospholipase A type-Asp49 from snake venom shows selective toxicity against cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and Ca Ski) without damaging their membranes.
  • - The study concludes that this compound disrupts cell adhesion and affects survival pathways, positioning it as a promising candidate for developing effective cervical cancer treatments.
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Due to the lack of chemotherapeutic drugs that selectively affect cervical cancer cells, natural sources such as snake venom are currently being investigated for molecules with antitumor potential. , a phospholipase A type-Asp49 from snake venom, induced cell death in a cervical cancer cell line-Ca Ski-related to dysfunction in the ability to resolve endoplasmic reticulum stress, evidenced by sub-expression of genes such as PERK, ERO1 PDIs, HSP70, and CHOP. Western blot analysis validated the last two genes' sub-expression at the protein level.

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Bothriechis schlegelii is a venomous snake found in Central and South America, mainly sighted in regions devoted to agriculture. However, in Colombia, little is known about its contribution to the total envenoming cases. Furthermore, there are no reports of the biochemical and functional activities of venoms from the southwest populations, and the differences respecting other populations are unknown.

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The systemic effects generated by Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii envenoming, a species found in the northern region of Colombia, is poorly known. The present study aimed to analyze for the first time the mice's behavior, the histological alterations, and changes in biochemical markers levels resulting from the intraperitoneal injection of an LD of P. lansbergii lansbergii snake venom on mice.

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Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer worldwide in women. Apoptosis reactivation has become the main strategy for decreasing cancer proliferation. There is a need to extend the search for new drugs to implement more effective and less toxic strategies for cervical cancer treatment.

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Background: Disintegrins from snake venoms bind with high specificity cell surface integrins, which are important pharmacological targets associated with cancer development and progression.

Objective: In this study, we isolated a disintegrin from the Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii venom and evaluated its antitumoral effects on breast cancer cells.

Methods: The isolation of the disintegrin was performed on RP-HPLC and the inhibition of platelet aggregation was evaluated on human platelet-rich plasma.

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After a snakebite accident, species identification is of vital importance. However, the existence of intraspecific differences in the body coloration patterns of venomous snakes can generate confusion and delay a convenient and effective treatment. This is the situation for Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii from Colombia, for which two distinctive color morphs occur, and the relationship of these morphs with venom toxicity is unknown.

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The Lansberg's hognose pitviper, Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii, inhabits northern Colombia. A recent proteomic characterization of its venom (J. Proteomics [2015] 114, 287-299) revealed the presence of phospholipases A2 (PLA2) accounting for 16.

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Unlabelled: The venom of the Lansberg's hognose pitviper, Porthidium lansbergii lansbergii, a species found in the northern region of Colombia, is poorly known. Aiming to increase knowledge on Porthidium species venoms, its proteomic analysis and functional evaluation of in vitro and in vivo activities relevant to its toxicity were undertaken. Out of 51 protein components resolved by a combination of RP-HPLC and SDS-PAGE, 47 were assigned to 12 known protein families.

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