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Tabares Vélez S, Preciado LM, Vargas Muñoz LJ, Madrid Bracamonte CA, Zuluaga A, Gómez Robles J, Renjifo-Ibañez C, Estrada-Gómez S. Standard Quality Characteristics and Efficacy of a New Third-Generation Antivenom Developed in Colombia Covering Micrurus spp. Venoms. Toxins (Basel) 2024; 16:183. [PMID: 38668608 PMCID: PMC11054757 DOI: 10.3390/toxins16040183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In Colombia, Micrurus snakebites are classified as severe according to the national clinical care guidelines and must be treated with specific antivenoms. Unfortunately, these types of antivenoms are scarce in certain areas of the country and are currently reported as an unavailable vital medicine. To address this issue, La Universidad de Antioquia, through its spin-off Tech Life Saving, is leading a project to develop third-generation polyvalent freeze-dried antivenom. The goal is to ensure access to this therapy, especially in rural and dispersed areas. This project aims to evaluate the physicochemical and preclinical parameters (standard quality characteristics) of a lab-scale anti-elapid antivenom batch. The antivenom is challenged against the venoms of several Micrurus species, including M. mipartitus, M. dumerilii, M. ancoralis, M. dissoleucus, M. lemniscatus, M. medemi, M. spixii, M. surinamensis, and M. isozonus, following the standard quality characteristics set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The antivenom demonstrates an appearance consistent with standards, 100% solubility within 4 min and 25 s, an extractable volume of 10.39 mL, a pH of 6.04, an albumin concentration of 0.377 mg/mL (equivalent to 1.22% of total protein), and a protein concentration of 30.97 mg/mL. Importantly, it maintains full integrity of its F(ab')2 fragments and exhibits purity over 98.5%. Furthermore, in mice toxicity evaluations, doses up to 15 mg/mouse show no toxic effects. The antivenom also demonstrates a significant recognition pattern against Micrurus venoms rich in phospholipase A2 (PLA2) content, as observed in M. dumerilii, M. dissoleucus, and M. isozonus. The effective dose 50 (ED50) indicates that a single vial (10 mL) can neutralize 2.33 mg of M. mipartitus venom and 3.99 mg of M. dumerilii venom. This new anti-elapid third-generation polyvalent and freeze-dried antivenom meets the physicochemical parameters set by the WHO and the regulators in Colombia. It demonstrates significant efficacy in neutralizing the venom of the most epidemiologically important Micrurus species in Colombia. Additionally, it recognizes seven other species of Micrurus venom with a higher affinity for venoms exhibiting PLA2 toxins. Fulfilling these parameters represents the first step toward proposing a new pharmacological alternative for treating snakebites in Colombia, particularly in dispersed rural areas, given that this antivenom is formulated as a freeze-dried product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Tabares Vélez
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Terapéuticas—Serpentario, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), Medellin 050010, Colombia; (S.T.V.); (L.M.P.); (J.G.R.)
- Tech Life Saving (TLS), Tech Innovation Group Company, Medellin 050022, Colombia; (L.J.V.M.); (C.A.M.B.); (A.Z.)
| | - Lina María Preciado
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Terapéuticas—Serpentario, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), Medellin 050010, Colombia; (S.T.V.); (L.M.P.); (J.G.R.)
| | - Leidy Johana Vargas Muñoz
- Tech Life Saving (TLS), Tech Innovation Group Company, Medellin 050022, Colombia; (L.J.V.M.); (C.A.M.B.); (A.Z.)
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellin 050012, Colombia
| | | | - Angelica Zuluaga
- Tech Life Saving (TLS), Tech Innovation Group Company, Medellin 050022, Colombia; (L.J.V.M.); (C.A.M.B.); (A.Z.)
| | - Jeisson Gómez Robles
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Terapéuticas—Serpentario, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), Medellin 050010, Colombia; (S.T.V.); (L.M.P.); (J.G.R.)
| | - Camila Renjifo-Ibañez
- Centro de Investigación Tibaitatá, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria—AGROSAVIA, Bogota 250047, Colombia;
| | - Sebastián Estrada-Gómez
- Grupo de Toxinología y Alternativas Terapéuticas—Serpentario, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), Medellin 050010, Colombia; (S.T.V.); (L.M.P.); (J.G.R.)
- Tech Life Saving (TLS), Tech Innovation Group Company, Medellin 050022, Colombia; (L.J.V.M.); (C.A.M.B.); (A.Z.)
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Piedrahita JD, Cardona-Ruda A, Pereañez JA, Rey-Suárez P. In-depth immunorecognition and neutralization analyses of Micrurus mipartitus and M. dumerilii venoms and toxins by a commercial antivenom. Biochimie 2024; 216:120-125. [PMID: 37844754 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2023.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
In Colombia, the Micrurus genus comprises 30 species, including M. mipartitus and M. dumerilii, which are of major clinical relevance due to their wide geographical distribution and the number of snakebites inflicted by them. These neurotoxic envenomations are characterized by neuromuscular paralysis attributed to venom components such as three-finger toxins (3FTx) and phospholipases (PLA2). Additionally, there is limited information available on the neutralizing coverage of commercially available antivenoms, underscoring the need to perform studies to assess the cross-neutralizing ability of these life-saving products. Therefore, we present an in-depth immunorecognition analysis by the anticoral-INS antivenom from Colombia on the M. mipartitus and M. dumerilii venoms. The antivenom cross-recognized the whole venoms and their components with different intensities. For instance, the antivenom showed better recognition on PLA2s than on 3FTxs in both venoms. Moreover, at doses tested, the antivenom totally neutralized the lethal effect of M. dumerilii venom; however, it did not neutralize this effect induced by M. mipartitus venom and its main toxic components from the southwestern region of the department of Antioquia. Furthermore, the anticoral-INS antivenom displayed better cross-immunorecognition of PLA2-predominant Micrurus venoms than of 3FTx-predominant Micrurus venoms. This highlights the need to include venoms from both types of venom patterns in the immunization mixture to produce antivenoms against coral snakes. Finally, our results suggest the need for further research to optimize the composition of immunizing mixtures for antivenom production and improve their efficacy against coral snake envenomation in Colombia and the Americas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Diego Piedrahita
- Departamento de Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Ana Cardona-Ruda
- Grupo de Investigación en Toxinología, Alternativas Terapéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Jaime Andrés Pereañez
- Grupo de Investigación en Toxinología, Alternativas Terapéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Paola Rey-Suárez
- Grupo de Investigación en Toxinología, Alternativas Terapéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago, Chile.
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Pereañez JA, Preciado LM, Rey-Suárez P. Knowledge about Snake Venoms and Toxins from Colombia: A Systematic Review. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:658. [PMID: 37999521 PMCID: PMC10675826 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15110658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Colombia encompasses three mountain ranges that divide the country into five natural regions: Andes, Pacific, Caribbean, Amazon, and Orinoquia. These regions offer an impressive range of climates, altitudes, and landscapes, which lead to a high snake biodiversity. Of the almost 300 snake species reported in Colombia, nearly 50 are categorized as venomous. This high diversity of species contrasts with the small number of studies to characterize their venom compositions and natural history in the different ecoregions. This work reviews the available information about the venom composition, isolated toxins, and potential applications of snake species found in Colombia. Data compilation was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, and the systematic literature search was carried out in Pubmed/MEDLINE. Venom proteomes from nine Viperidae and three Elapidae species have been described using quantitative analytical strategies. In addition, venoms of three Colubridae species have been studied. Bioactivities reported for some of the venoms or isolated components-such as antibacterial, cytotoxicity on tumoral cell lines, and antiplasmodial properties-may be of interest to develop potential applications. Overall, this review indicates that, despite recent progress in the characterization of venoms from several Colombian snakes, it is necessary to perform further studies on the many species whose venoms remain essentially unexplored, especially those of the poorly known genus Micrurus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Andrés Pereañez
- Research Group in Toxinology, Pharmaceutical, and Food Alternatives, Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences Faculty, University of Antioquia, Medellín 50010, Colombia; (L.M.P.); (P.R.-S.)
- Research Group in Pharmaceutical Promotion and Prevention, University of Antioquia, Medellín 50010, Colombia
| | - Lina María Preciado
- Research Group in Toxinology, Pharmaceutical, and Food Alternatives, Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences Faculty, University of Antioquia, Medellín 50010, Colombia; (L.M.P.); (P.R.-S.)
| | - Paola Rey-Suárez
- Research Group in Toxinology, Pharmaceutical, and Food Alternatives, Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences Faculty, University of Antioquia, Medellín 50010, Colombia; (L.M.P.); (P.R.-S.)
- Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8320000, Chile
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Hernández-Altamirano JA, Salazar-Valenzuela D, Medina-Villamizar EJ, Quirola DR, Patel K, Vaiyapuri S, Lomonte B, Almeida JR. First Insights into the Venom Composition of Two Ecuadorian Coral Snakes. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232314686. [PMID: 36499012 PMCID: PMC9740791 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Micrurus is a medically relevant genus of venomous snakes composed of 85 species. Bites caused by coral snakes are rare, but they are usually associated with very severe and life-threatening clinical manifestations. Ecuador is a highly biodiverse country with a complex natural environment, which is home to approximately 20% of identified Micrurus species. Additionally, it is on the list of Latin American countries with the highest number of snakebites. However, there is no local antivenom available against the Ecuadorian snake venoms, and the biochemistry of these venoms has been poorly explored. Only a limited number of samples collected in the country from the Viperidae family were recently characterised. Therefore, this study addressed the compositional patterns of two coral snake venoms from Ecuador, M. helleri and M. mipartitus, using venomics strategies, integrating sample fractionation, gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry. Chromatographic and electrophoretic profiles of these snake venoms revealed interspecific variability, which was ascertained by mass spectrometry. The two venoms followed the recently recognised dichotomic toxin expression trends displayed by Micrurus species: M. helleri venom contains a high proportion (72%) of phospholipase A2, whereas M. mipartitus venom is dominated by three-finger toxins (63%). A few additional protein families were also detected in these venoms. Overall, these results provide the first comprehensive views on the composition of two Ecuadorian coral snake venoms and expand the knowledge of Micrurus venom phenotypes. These findings open novel perspectives to further research the functional aspects of these biological cocktails of PLA2s and 3FTxs and stress the need for the preclinical evaluation of the currently used antivenoms for therapeutic purposes in Ecuador.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Salazar-Valenzuela
- Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb) e Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Indoamérica, Quito 180103, Ecuador
| | | | - Diego R. Quirola
- Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb) e Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Indoamérica, Quito 180103, Ecuador
| | - Ketan Patel
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6UB, UK
| | | | - Bruno Lomonte
- Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose 11501, Costa Rica
| | - José R. Almeida
- Biomolecules Discovery Group, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 8 Via Muyuna, Tena 150101, Ecuador
- School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6UB, UK
- Correspondence:
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Cañas CA, Castaño-Valencia S, Castro-Herrera F. Biological and medical aspects related to the yellow-bellied sea snake Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766): A view from Colombia. Travel Med Infect Dis 2022; 49:102410. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2022.102410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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Dashevsky D, Rokyta D, Frank N, Nouwens A, Fry BG. Electric Blue: Molecular Evolution of Three-Finger Toxins in the Long-Glanded Coral Snake Species Calliophis bivirgatus. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:124. [PMID: 33567660 PMCID: PMC7915963 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13020124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The genus Calliophis is the most basal branch of the family Elapidae and several species in it have developed highly elongated venom glands. Recent research has shown that C. bivirgatus has evolved a seemingly unique toxin (calliotoxin) that produces spastic paralysis in their prey by acting on the voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels. We assembled a transcriptome from C. bivirgatus to investigate the molecular characteristics of these toxins and the venom as a whole. We find strong confirmation that this genus produces the classic elapid eight-cysteine three-finger toxins, that δδ-elapitoxins (toxins that resemble calliotoxin) are responsible for a substantial portion of the venom composition, and that these toxins form a distinct clade within a larger, more diverse clade of C. bivirgatus three-finger toxins. This broader clade of C. bivirgatus toxins also contains the previously named maticotoxins and is somewhat closely related to cytotoxins from other elapids. However, the toxins from this clade that have been characterized are not themselves cytotoxic. No other toxins show clear relationships to toxins of known function from other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Dashevsky
- Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
- Australian National Insect Collection, Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Darin Rokyta
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 24105, USA;
| | - Nathaniel Frank
- MToxins Venom Lab, 717 Oregon Street, Oshkosh, WI 54902, USA;
| | - Amanda Nouwens
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
| | - Bryan G. Fry
- Venom Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;
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Dashevsky D, Bénard-Valle M, Neri-Castro E, Youngman NJ, Zdenek CN, Alagón A, Portes-Junior JA, Frank N, Fry BG. Anticoagulant Micrurus venoms: Targets and neutralization. Toxicol Lett 2020; 337:91-97. [PMID: 33197555 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2020.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease with a massive global burden of injury and death. The best current treatments, antivenoms, are plagued by a number of logistical issues that limit supply and access in remote or poor regions. We explore the anticoagulant properties of venoms from the genus Micrurus (coral snakes), which have been largely unstudied, as well as the effectiveness of antivenom and a small-molecule phospholipase inhibitor-varespladib-at counteracting these effects. Our in vitro results suggest that these venoms likely interfere with the formation or function of the prothrombinase complex. We find that the anticoagulant potency varies widely across the genus and is especially pronounced in M. laticollaris. This variation does not appear to correspond to previously described patterns regarding the relative expression of the three-finger toxin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) toxin families within the venoms of this genus. The coral snake antivenom Coralmyn, is largely unable to ameliorate these effects except for M. ibiboboca. Varespladib on the other hand completely abolished the anticoagulant activity of every venom. This is consistent with the growing body of results showing that varespladib may be an effective treatment for a wide range of toxicity caused by PLA2 toxins from many different snake species. Varespladib is a particularly attractive candidate to help alleviate the burden of snakebite because it is an approved drug that possesses several logistical advantages over antivenom including temperature stability and oral availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Dashevsky
- Toxin Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia; Australian National Insect Collection, Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
| | - Melisa Bénard-Valle
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62210, Mexico
| | - Edgar Neri-Castro
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62210, Mexico
| | - Nicholas J Youngman
- Toxin Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Christina N Zdenek
- Toxin Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Alejandro Alagón
- Departamento de Medicina Molecular y Bioprocesos, Instituto de Biotecnologa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62210, Mexico
| | - José A Portes-Junior
- Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
| | | | - Bryan G Fry
- Toxin Evolution Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia.
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Rey-Suárez P, Lomonte B. Immunological cross-recognition and neutralization studies of Micrurus mipartitus and Micrurus dumerilii venoms by two therapeutic equine antivenoms. Biologicals 2020; 68:40-45. [PMID: 32928631 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2020.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
New world Coral snakes comprise 82 species of medical importance distributed from southeastern United States to Argentina. In Colombia, Micrurus mipartitus and M. dumerilii are responsible for most coral snakebite accidents. Although infrequent, the severity of these envenomings, as well as the limited information available on the neutralizing coverage of commercially available antivenoms, underscores the need to perform studies to assess the cross-neutralizing ability of these life-saving immunobiologicals. In the present work, we evaluated the cross-recognition and neutralization ability of two equine therapeutic antivenoms: PROBIOL and SAC-ICP. PROBIOL antivenom showed cross-recognition towards both M. mipartitus and M. dumerilii venoms, with a significantly higher binding to the latter in both whole-venom ELISA and fractionated-venom immunoprofiling. In contrast, SAC-ICP antivenom cross-recognized M. dumerilii venom, but not that of M. mipartitus. Lethality of M. dumerilii venom was neutralized by both antivenoms, with a slightly higher potency for the SAC-ICP antivenom. However, the lethality of M. mipartitus venom was not neutralized by any of the two antivenoms. Results uncover the need to include M. mipartitus venom, or its most relevant toxins, in the production of coral snake antivenoms to be used in Colombia, to assure the neutralizing coverage for this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Rey-Suárez
- Programa de Ofidismo y Escorpionismo, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
| | - Bruno Lomonte
- Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
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da Silva AM, da Fonseca WL, de Araujo Valente Neto E, Bisneto PF, Contreras-Bernal J, Sachett J, Monteiro WM, Bernarde PS. Envenomation by Micrurus annellatus bolivianus (Peters, 1871) coral snake in the western Brazilian Amazon. Toxicon 2019; 166:34-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2018] [Revised: 04/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Strauch MA, Souza GJ, Pereira JN, Ramos TDS, Cesar MO, Tomaz MA, Monteiro-Machado M, Patrão-Neto FC, Melo PA. True or false coral snake: is it worth the risk? A Micrurus corallinus case report. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis 2018; 24:10. [PMID: 29651298 PMCID: PMC5894131 DOI: 10.1186/s40409-018-0148-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Bites provoked by the genus Micrurus represent less than 1% of snakebite cases notified in Brazil, a tiny fraction compared with other genus such as Bothrops and Crotalus, which together represent almost 80% of accidents. In addition to their less aggressive behavior, habits and morphology of coral snakes are determinant factors for such low incidence of accidents. Although Micrurus bites are rare, victims must be rescued and hospitalized in a short period of time, because this type of envenoming may evolve to a progressive muscle weakness and acute respiratory failure. Case Presentation We report an accident caused by Micrurus corallinus involving a 28-year-old Caucasian sailor man bitten on the hand. The accident occurred in a recreational camp because people believed the snake was not venomous. The victim presented neurological symptoms 2 h after the accident and was taken to the hospital, where he received antielapidic serum 10 h after the bite. After the antivenom treatment, the patient presented clinical evolution without complications and was discharged 4 days later. Conclusions We reinforce that it is essential to have a health care structure suitable for the treatment of snakebite. Besides, the manipulation of these animals should only be carried out by a team of well-equipped and trained professionals, and even so with special attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Abrahão Strauch
- Vital Brazil Institute, Niterói, RJ Brazil.,2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | - Guilherme Jones Souza
- Vital Brazil Institute, Niterói, RJ Brazil.,4Postgraduate Program in Teaching of Science, Environment and Society, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | | | | | - Marcelo Oliveira Cesar
- Vital Brazil Institute, Niterói, RJ Brazil.,2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | - Marcelo Amorim Tomaz
- 2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | - Marcos Monteiro-Machado
- 2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | - Fernando Chagas Patrão-Neto
- 2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
| | - Paulo A Melo
- 2Laboratory of Pharmacology of Toxins, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Center of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
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Ancient Diversification of Three-Finger Toxins in Micrurus Coral Snakes. J Mol Evol 2018; 86:58-67. [PMID: 29379986 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-017-9825-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Coral snakes, most notably the genus Micrurus, are the only terrestrial elapid snakes in the Americas. Elapid venoms are generally known for their potent neurotoxicity which is usually caused by Three-Finger Toxin (3FTx) proteins. These toxins can have a wide array of functions that have been characterized from the venom of other elapids. We examined publicly available sequences from Micrurus 3FTx to show that they belong to 8 monophyletic clades that diverged as deep in the 3FTx phylogenetic tree as the other clades with characterized functions. Functional residues from previously characterized clades of 3FTx are not well conserved in most of the Micrurus toxin clades. We also analyzed the patterns of selection on these toxins and find that they have been diversifying at different rates, with some having undergone extreme diversifying selection. This suggests that Micrurus 3FTx may contain a previously underappreciated functional diversity that has implications for the clinical outcomes of bite victims, the evolution and ecology of the genus, as well as the potential for biodiscovery efforts focusing on these toxins.
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