AI Article Synopsis
- Vipoxin is a toxic compound found in the venom of the Bulgarian snake Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, renowned as the most poisonous snake in Europe.
- The complex consists of a toxic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and a non-toxic protein inhibitor, revealing a high genetic similarity of 62% between the two parts.
- The unique structure of vipoxin challenges previous assumptions about phospholipases and offers potential for advancing drug design by targeting PLA2 activity for therapeutic purposes.
Article Abstract
Vipoxin is the main toxic component in the venom of the Bulgarian snake Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, the most toxic snake in Europe. Vipoxin is a complex between a toxic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and a non-toxic protein inhibitor. The structure is of genetic interest due to the high degree of sequence homology (62%) between the two functionally different components. The structure shows that the formation of the complex in vipoxin is significantly different to that seen in many known structures of phospholipases and contradicts the assumptions made in earlier studies. The modulation of PLA2 activity is of great pharmacological interest, and the present structure will be a model for structure-based drug design.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0014-5793(97)00853-3 | DOI Listing |
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