Publications by authors named "Luis Alberto Ponce-Soto"

The current study's objective is to characterize a new throm-bin-like enzyme called TLBro that was obtained from snake from a biochemical and hemostatic perspective. One chromatographic step was used to purify it, producing the serine protease TLBro. Molecular mass was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be between reduced and unreduced by 35 kDa.

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A new weak hemorrhagic metalloproteinase named BtaMP-1 was purified from Bothriopsis taeniata snake venom by molecular exclusion followed by anion exchange chromatographies. This protein showed a molecular mass of 25,968.16 Da and is composed of 218 amino acid residues.

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Objectives.: To evaluate the healing effect of a Piper aduncum ethanol-water extract on an adult human dermal fibroblast cell line (hDFa).

Materials And Methods.

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Snake venoms are composed of approximately 90% of proteins with several pharmacological activities having high potential in research as biological tools. One of the most abundant compounds is phospholipases A2 (PLA2), which are the most studied venom protein due to their wide pharmacological activity. Using a combination of chromatographic steps, a new PLA2 K49 was isolated and purified from the whole venom of the Bothriopsis taeniata and submitted to analyses mass spectrometry.

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Four proteins with phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity, designated P9a(Cdt-PLA2), P9b(Cdt-PLA2), P10a(Cdt-PLA2) and P10b(Cdt-PLA2) were purified from the venom of Crotalus durissus terrificus by two chromatographic steps: a gel filtration and reversed phase HPLC. The profile obtained clearly shows that three of them have a similar abundance. The molecular mass, 14193.

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Phospholipases A (PLA) are a group of enzymes that hydrolyze phospholipids at the -2 position, being present in all nature. In venomous animals, these proteins assume a special role, being able to exert diverse pharmacological effects. In this work, authors identified a new isoform of PLA in the venom of , which was isolated through sequential chromatographic steps and named PhTX-III.

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A new PLA2 (Bp-13) was purified from Bothrops pauloensis snake venom after a single chromatographic step of RP-HPLC on μ-Bondapak C-18. Amino acid analysis showed a high content of hydrophobic and basic amino acids and 14 half-cysteine residues. The N-terminal sequence showed a high degree of homology with basic Asp49 PLA2 myotoxins from other Bothrops venoms.

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A myographic study was performed to compare the neuromuscular effects of venoms and crotoxin-like proteins from Crotalus durissus ruruima and Crotalus durissus cumanensis in mice phrenic-diaphragm preparation. It was concluded that both venoms present neurotoxic activity as a consequence of their crotoxin content. Furthermore, crotoxin from C.

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A monomeric basic PLA₂ (PhTX-II) of 14149.08 Da molecular weight was purified to homogeneity from Porthidium hyoprora venom. Amino acid sequence by in tandem mass spectrometry revealed that PhTX-II belongs to Asp49 PLA₂ enzyme class and displays conserved domains as the catalytic network, Ca²⁺-binding loop and the hydrophobic channel of access to the catalytic site, reflected in the high catalytic activity displayed by the enzyme.

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Previous research has shown that crotamine, a toxin isolated from the venom of Crotalus durissus terrificus, induces the release of acetylcholine and dopamine in the central nervous system of rats. Particularly, these neurotransmitters are important modulators of memory processes. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effects of crotamine infusion on persistence of memory in rats.

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Bothrops brazili is a snake found in the forests of the Amazonian region whose commercial therapeutic anti-bothropic serum has low efficacy for local myotoxic effects, resulting in an important public health problem in this area. Catalytically inactive phospholipases A2-like (Lys49-PLA2s) are among the main components from Bothrops genus venoms and are capable of causing drastic myonecrosis. Several studies have shown that the C-terminal region of these toxins, which includes a variable combination of positively charged and hydrophobic residues, is responsible for their activity.

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The neuromuscular activity of Bbil-TX, a PLA2 with catalytic activity isolated from Bothriopsis bilineata smargadina venom, was examined in chick biventer cervicis (BC) and mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm (PND) preparations. In BC preparations, Bbil-TX (0.5-10 μg/ml) caused time- and concentration-dependent blockade that was not reversed by washing; the times for 50% blockade were 87 ± 7, 41 ± 7 and 19 ± 2 min (mean ± SEM; n = 4-6) for 1, 5 and 10 μg/ml, respectively.

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Bleu TX-III was isolated from Bothrops leucurus snake venom on one-step analytical chromatography reverse phase HPLC, was homogeneous on SDS-PAGE, and was confirmed by Q-Tof Ultima API ESI/MS (TOF MS mode) mass spectrometry in 14243.8 Da. Multiple alignments of Bleu TX-III show high degree of homology with basic PLA2 myotoxins from other Bothrops venoms.

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Bbil-TX, a PLA2, was purified from Bothriopsis bilineata snake venom after only one chromatographic step using RP-HPLC on μ-Bondapak C-18 column. A molecular mass of 14243.8 Da was confirmed by Q-Tof Ultima API ESI/MS (TOF MS mode) mass spectrometry.

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BrTX-I, a PLA2, was purified from Bothrops roedingeri venom after only one chromatographic step using reverse-phase HPLC on μ-Bondapak C-18 column. A molecular mass of 14358.69 Da was determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

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We recently described the isolation of a basic PLA2 (PhTX-I) from Porthidium hyoprora snake venom. This toxin exhibits high catalytic activity, induces in vivo myotoxicity, moderates footpad edema, and causes in vitro neuromuscular blockade. Here, we describe the chemical modifications of specific amino acid residues (His, Tyr, Lys, and Trp), performed in PhTX-I, to study their effects on the structural, enzymatic, and pharmacological properties of this myotoxin.

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Two myotoxic and noncatalytic Lys49-phospholipases A(2) (braziliantoxin-II and MT-II) and a myotoxic and catalytic phospholipase A(2) (braziliantoxin-III) from the venom of the Amazonian snake Bothrops brazili were crystallized. The crystals diffracted to resolutions in the range 2.56-2.

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A new serine protease with thrombin-like activity (TLBan) from Bothrops andianus (Andean Lancehead) was isolated in two chromatographic steps in LC molecular exclusion and reverse phase-HPLC. TLBan is a glycoprotein that contains both N-linked carbohydrates and sialic acid in its structure, with Mr ∼29 kDa under reducing conditions and non-reducing ∼25 kDa conditions and confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (25,835.65 Da) and exhibited high specificity for BAρNA, Michaelis-Menten behavior with Km 5.

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The Anch TX-I and II PLA(2) were purified from Anthothoe chilensis (Lesson, 1830) from the extract of the anemone after only two chromatographic step using molecular exclusion chromatography (Sephadex G-75) and reverse phase HPLC on μ-Bondapak C18 column. Both PLA(2) showed a molecular mass of ~14kDa determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and showed a high catalytic activity (data not showed). Although homologous with mammalian or snake venom group I PLA(2)s, Anch TX-I and II is sufficiently structurally different for the question of its placement into the existing PLA(2) classification scheme to arise.

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In this work, we examined the neuromuscular activity of Bothriopsis bilineata smargadina (forest viper) venom in vertebrate isolated nerve-muscle preparations. In chick biventer cervicis preparations the venom caused concentration-dependent (0.1-30 μg/ml) neuromuscular blockade that was not reversed by washing, with 50% blockade occurring in 15-90 min.

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BmHF-1, from the venom of Bothrops marajoensis, was purified by Sephadex G-75 and HPLC-RP on micro-Bondapak C-18 column chromatography. It presented a molecular mass of 27162.36 Da determined by MALDI-TOF MS.

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Two major crotamine isoforms (III-4 and III-7) were obtained combining two chromatographic steps on molecular exclusion chromatography (Sephadex G-75) and ion-exchange column (Protein Pack SP 5PW) of the rattlesnake Crotalus durissus cumanensis venom. The "in vivo" myotoxic effect of the venom, its "in vitro" cytotoxicity in myoblasts and myotubes (C2C12) and the neurotoxic and edema-forming activity were characterized. The molecular masses of the crotamine isoforms were 4907.

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The thrombin-like serine protease TLBm from Bothrops marajoensis was isolated in one chromatographic step in reverse phase HPLC. Its molecular mass was 33239.95 Da, as based on the determined primary structure and confirmed experimentally by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (33332.

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