Isolation and characterization of metalloproteases PI from Bothrops snake venom

• Grant number: 23/00949-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Karen de Morais Zani
• Grantee: Maria Amélia Farias Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of snakebites per year reaches approximately 5.4 million, resulting in between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths and 400,000 people who are incapacitated by the envenomation. According to the Ministry of Health, there are approximately 19,000 to 22,000 snakebites per year in Brazil, and snakes of the genus Bothrops, of the Viperidae family, are responsible for most of these envenomations. The venom of snakes of the Viperidae family is composed mainly of proteins, and bothropic venom has, as one of its main components, metalloproteases (SVMP), divided into three main classes: SVMP P-I, which is found in the vast majority of bothropic venoms; SVMP P-II and SVMP P-III. The treatment for ophidian accidents consists of administrating a specific antiophidic serum for each case, according to the type of snake and the severity of the accident, since the serum has antibodies that act against the venom, thus creating a passive immunization. Considering the interspecific and intraspecific variability among Bothrops snake venoms, the severity of Bothrops accidents in the country and the relevance of SVMP P-I in Bothrops venom, the isolation and characterization of PI metalloproteases from Bothrops snake venom becomes a need in order to (i) improve the quality of antiophidian sera, (ii) elucidate the molecular evolution of metalloproteases and (iii) characterize these molecules, biochemically and functionally, , allowing the elucidation of their biological/ecological relevance for snakes and for the pathophysiology of Bothrops envenomation.