Isolation and biochemical characterization of a new thrombin-like serine protease from Bothrops pirajai snake venom

Biomed Res Int. 2014:2014:595186. doi: 10.1155/2014/595186. Epub 2014 Feb 26.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel serine protease (SP) isolated from Bothrops pirajai, a venomous snake found solely in Brazil that belongs to the Viperidae family. The identified SP, named BpirSP-39, was isolated by three chromatographic steps (size exclusion, bioaffinity, and reverse phase chromatographies). The molecular mass of BpirSP-39 was estimated by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by mass spectrometry (39,408.32 Da). The protein was able to form fibrin networks, which was not observed in the presence of serine protease inhibitors, such as phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). Furthermore, BpirSP-39 presented considerable thermal stability and was apparently able to activate factor XIII of the blood coagulation cascade, unlike most serine proteases. BpirSP-39 was capable of hydrolyzing different chromogenic substrates tested (S-2222, S-2302, and S-2238) while Cu(2+) significantly diminished BspirSP-39 activity on the three tested substrates. The enzyme promoted platelet aggregation and also exhibited fibrinogenolytic, fibrinolytic, gelatinolytic, and amidolytic activities. The multiple alignment showed high sequence similarity to other thrombin-like enzymes from snake venoms. These results allow us to conclude that a new SP was isolated from Bothrops pirajai snake venom.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bothrops
  • Crotalid Venoms*
  • Factor VIII / chemistry*
  • Fibrinolysis*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Weight
  • Phenylmethylsulfonyl Fluoride / chemistry
  • Serine Proteases / chemistry*
  • Serine Proteases / isolation & purification*
  • Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / chemistry

Substances

  • Crotalid Venoms
  • Serine Proteinase Inhibitors
  • Phenylmethylsulfonyl Fluoride
  • F8 protein, human
  • Factor VIII
  • Serine Proteases