Purification, cloning and biological characterization of a novel disintegrin from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom

A novel disintegrin, jerdonin, was purified from the Trimeresurus jerdonii venom by means of gel filtration and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Its coding cDNA was also isolated from the venom gland. The jerdonin coding cDNA is part of a precursor composed of proprotein, metalloproteinase, and disintegrin domains. From the deduced amino acid sequence, jerdonin is composed of 71 amino acid residues including 12 cysteines and the tripeptide sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), a well-known characteristic of the disintegrin family. Molecular mass of jerdonin was determined to be 7483Da by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Jerdonin inhibited ADP- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation with IC(50) of 220 and 240 nM, respectively. In vivo, jerdonin inhibited the growth of subcutaneously inoculated B16 solid tumor in C57BL/6 mice and improved the survival time of the tumor-bearing mice.