A Transcriptomic View of the Proteome Variability of Newborn and Adult Bothrops jararaca Snake Venoms

Autor(es)

Zelanis, Andre ^{[1, 2]} ; Andrade-Silva, Debora ^[2] ; Rocha, Marisa M. ^[3] ; Furtado, Maria F. ^[3] ; Serrano, Solange M. T. ^{[1, 2]} ; Junqueira-de-Azevedo, Inacio L. M. ^{[4, 2]} ; Ho, Paulo Lee ^{[4, 1]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Quim, Dept Bioquim, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Inst Butantan, Lab Especial Toxinol Aplicada CAT Cepid, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Inst Butantan, Lab Herpetol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Inst Butantan, Ctr Biotecnol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases; v. 6, n. 3, p. e1554, 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 37

Resumo

Background: Snake bite is a neglected public health problem in communities in rural areas of several countries. Bothrops jararaca causes many snake bites in Brazil and previous studies have demonstrated that the pharmacological activities displayed by its venom undergo a significant ontogenetic shift. Similarly, the venom proteome of B. jararaca exhibits a considerable variation upon neonate to adult transition, which is associated with changes in diet from ectothermic prey in early life to endothermic prey in adulthood. Moreover, it has been shown that the Brazilian commercial antibothropic antivenom, which is produced by immunization with adult venom, is less effective in neutralizing newborn venom effects. On the other hand, venom gland transcripts of newborn snakes are poorly known since all transcriptomic studies have been carried out using mRNA from adult specimens. Methods/Principal Findings: Here we analyzed venom gland cDNA libraries of newborn and adult B. jararaca in order to evaluate whether the variability demonstrated for its venom proteome and pharmacological activities was correlated with differences in the structure of toxin transcripts. The analysis revealed that the variability in B. jararaca venom gland transcriptomes is quantitative, as illustrated by the very high content of metalloproteinases in the newborn venom glands. Moreover, the variability is also characterized by the structural diversity of SVMP precursors found in newborn and adult transcriptomes. In the adult transcriptome, however, the content of metalloproteinase precursors considerably diminishes and the number of transcripts of serine proteinases, C-type lectins and bradykinin-potentiating peptides increase. Moreover, the comparison of the content of ESTs encoding toxins in adult male and female venom glands showed some genderrelated differences. Conclusions/Significance: We demonstrate a substantial shift in toxin transcripts upon snake development and a marked decrease in the metalloproteinase P-III/P-I class ratio which are correlated with changes in the venom proteome complexity and pharmacological activities. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 07/54626-7 - Proteômica e transcriptômica aplicadas ao estudo das variações na composição do veneno de serpentes do gênero Bothrops relacionadas à idade e ao sexo
• Beneficiário: Solange Maria de Toledo Serrano
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 06/60486-0 - Proteômica e transcriptômica aplicadas ao estudo da variabilidade do veneno de Bothrops jararaca
• Beneficiário: André Zelanis Palitot Pereira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado