Aplicações Biotecnológicas

Perumal Samy RR, Gopalakrishnakone PP, Pachiappan AA, Thwin MM, Hian YE, Bow H, Chow VT, Tuck Weng JT.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Burkholderia pseudomallei are the causative agent of melioidosis. Increasing resistance of the disease to antibiotics is a severe problem in treatment regime and has led to intensification of the search for new drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are the most ubiquitous in nature as part of the innate immune system and host defense mechanism. METHODS: Here, we investigated a group of venoms (snakes, scorpions and honey bee venoms) for antimicrobial properties against two strains of Gram-negative bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei by using disc diffusion assay for in vitro susceptibility testing. The antibacterial activities of the venoms were compared with that of the isolated L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2s) enzymes. MICs were determined using broth dilution method. Bacterial growth was assessed by measurement of optical density at the lowest dilutions (MIC 0.25 mg/mL). The cell viability was measured using tetrazolium salts (XTT) based cytotoxic assay. RESULTS: The studied venoms showed high antimicrobial activity. The venoms of C. adamanteus, Daboia russelli russelli, A. halys, P. australis, B. candidus and P. guttata were equally as effective as Chloramphenicol and Cefazidime (30 ug/disc). Among those tested, phospholipase A2 enzymes (crotoxin B and daboiatoxin), showed the most potent antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (TES) bacteria. Naturally occurring venom peptides and phospholipase A2 proved to possess highly potent antimicrobial activity against Burkholderia pseudomallei. The XTT-assay results showed that the cell survival decreased with increasing concentrations (0.05-10 mg/mL) of Crotalus adamanteus venom, with no effect on the cell viability evident at 0.5 mg/mL. CONCLUSION: This antibacterial profile of snake venoms reported herein will be useful in the search for potential antibacterial agents against drug resistant microorganisms like B. pseudomallei.

Silveira, LB(1); Marcussi, S(2); Ticli, FK(3); Urzeda, MA(2); Biondo, R(2); França, SC(2); Pereira, PS(2); Soares, AM(2)

Natural And Artificial Inhibitors Of Snake Venom Phospholipases A₂

Phospholipases A₂ (PLA₂) from snake venoms induce different toxic and pharmacological effects including myotoxicity, edema, hypotension, platelet aggregation inhibition, convulsion, anticoagulation and others. Natural PLA₂ inhibitors were found in different organisms as plants, marine animals, snake and opossum plasmas. Functional characterization of natural (MMV from Taberna montana extract; manoalid A, from marine animal; heparin, from human blood; BmjMIP, from B. moojeni plasma; CAB from opossum plasma) and synthetic inhibitors (manoalid B, p-bromophenacil bromide BPB, EDTA), upon the enzymatic and pharmacological activity of PLA2 from Bothrops and Crotalus snake venome. PLA₂ was assayed in gels, while the myotoxic and edema inducing were evaluated in vivo. PrTX-I and III (from B. pirajai), BthTX-I and II (from B. jararacussu), crotoxin and CB (from C. durissus terrificus), in the presence or absence of different inhibitors, following an incubation of 30 minutes at 37ºC were used. Among the natural inhibitors, the following decreasing range of activity was observed: BmjMIP > manoalid A > CAB > heparin > MMV; for the synthetic ones, the sequence was: BPB > manoalid B > EDTA. Different levels of inhibition among PLA_2s from Bothrops and Crotalus venoms were also detected. Natural inhibitors were more efficient than synthetic ones for neutralization of the toxic and enzymatic effects induced by PLA_2s. Structural and interaction studies are needed to a better understanding of inhibitory effect in order to design new models of more potent synthetic inhibitors.

Zhang YJ, Wang JH, Lee WH, Wang Q, Liu H, Zheng YT, Zhang Y.

A novel L-amino acid oxidase, named TSV-LAO, has been purified and cloned from the snake Trimeresurus stejnegeri. Fifty percentage cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) of TSV-LAO on C8166 cells were 24 and 390 nM in the absence or presence of catalase (400 nM), respectively. However, at concentrations that showed little effect on cell viability, TSV-LAO displayed dose dependent inhibition on HIV-1 infection and replication. The antiviral selectivity indexes (CC50/EC50) were 16 and 6, respectively, corresponding to the measurements of syncytium formation and HIV-1 p24 antigen expression. Interestingly, the presence of catalase resulted in an increase of its antiviral selectivity to 52 and 38. Under the same conditions, no anti-HIV-1 activity was observed by exogenous addition of H2O2. The complete amino acid sequence of TSV-LAO, as deduced from its cDNA, exhibits a high degree of sequence identity with other snake venom LAOs.

Wei JF, Wei Q, Lu QM, Tai H, Jin Y, Wang WY, Xiong YL.

An L-amino acid oxidase (TM-LAO) from the venom of Hunan Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus was purified to homogeneity by three steps including DEAE Sephadex A-50 ion-exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and Resource Q ion-exchange chromatography. TM-LAO is composed of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 55 kD by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight was different with that of LAO purified from the same species distributed in Taiwan that was 70 kD. The 24 N-terminal amino acid sequence of TM-LAO is ADNKNPLEECFRETNYEEFLEIAR, which shares high similarity with other Viperid snake venom LAOs and has moderate similarity with Elapid snake venom LAOs. Further studies found that TM-LAO inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aurues and B. dysenteriae. TM-LAO also showed cytotoxicity and platelet aggregation activity. All the biological activities were eliminated by catalase, a H(2)O(2) scavenger. It was shown that these biological effects were possibly due to the formation of H(2)O(2) produced by TM-LAO.

Liu JW, Chai MQ, Du XY, Song JG, Zhou YC.

L-amino acid oxidase (LAO, EC 1.4.3.2) is widely found in snake venoms and is thought to contribute to the toxicity in envenoming. By using of Sephadex G-150, DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and FPLC Superose 12 chromatography, a protein with L-amino acid oxidase activity was purified and characterized from Agkistrodon haly Pallas venom. Its molecular mass was 57 kD as determined by SDS-PAGE analysis under both reducing and non-reducing conditions, and its pI was about 4.9.The protein catalysed the stereospecific oxidative deamination of L-amino acid substrate. It inhibited the platelet aggregation induced by ADP and collagen dose-dependently, even at low concentrations of 0.2 micromol/L and 0.08 micromol/L, respectively. The LAO had antibacterial effect to E.coli K12D31, and the effective concentration was as low as 0.03 g/L. Furthermore, the LAO showed cytotoxicity in crystal violet assay and apoptosis-inducing activity in the A549 cells. After 24h treatment with 5 mg/L LAO, the typical DNA fragmentation pattern of apoptotic cells was observed by using of agrose gel electrophoresis.