[Fibrinogen/fibrin-specific enzymes from copperhead (Agkistrodon halys halys) and cobra (Naja oxiana eichwald) snake venoms].

Ability of fractions of cobra's (Naja oxiana Eichwald) and copperhead snake's (Agkistrodon halys halys) venoms to hydrolyze fibrinogen/fibrin was studied. In cobra's snake a component with molecular mass of nearly 60 kDa was found to hydrolyze a-chain of fibrinogen but failed to hydrolyze casein/azocasein and fibrin. A fibrinogen-specific metalloproteinase, the enzyme was inhibited by EDTA. Cobra's venom reduced the mass of donor's fresh blood clots. The copperhead snake's venom and the fractions obtained by gel-filtration (HW-50) and ion exchange chromatography (DEAE-650) were found to hydrolyze casein/azocasein, a- and b-chains of fibrinogen/fibrin and donor's blood clots. The results from the study of the venom and proteolytically active fractions are the evidence for a thrombolytic potential in a copperhead snake's venom.