Identification and cloning of snake venom vascular endothelial growth factor (svVEGF) from Bothrops erythromelas pitviper

Toxicon. 2004 Oct;44(5):571-5. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.07.013.

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are among the most important angiogenic proteins found on vertebrates. In the last years, some reports of the occurrence of such proteins in snake venoms are rising the importance of this family of proteins as toxins, since they appear to be involved in many features of Viperidae envenoming, such as hypotension and venom spread through increase in vascular permeability. Here we describe the occurrence of snake venom VEGF in Bothrops erythromelas, a clinical important snake from Northeast of Brazil, through immunodetection and cloning of its cDNA and briefly provide an overview comparison of all recent described svVEGF sequences.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blotting, Western
  • Bothrops / genetics*
  • Brazil
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA, Complementary / chemistry
  • DNA, Complementary / genetics
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Techniques
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Snake Venoms / genetics*
  • Snake Venoms / metabolism
  • Snake Venoms / toxicity
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / genetics*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / metabolism

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • Snake Venoms
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A