Kallikrein-kinin system in the plasma of snakes

Using pharmacological preparations suitable for assay of mammalian kinins, it was shown that Bothrops jararaca (Bj) venom and other kininogenases were unable to release kinins from snake plasma. The kallikrein-kinin system presents species-specificity in birds. In order to detect such a specificity in snakes, the effects of Bj venom on snake blood pressure and the effect of incubates of snake plasma with trypsin, on snake blood pressure and snake uterus, were studied. The possibility of activating snake plasma kallikrein with ellagic acid, glass beads or kaolin was also investigated. Whereas plasma of the snakes Waglerophis merremii (Wm) and Crotalus durissus (Cd), were shown to contain factor XII, prekallikrein, kininogen, kininases and to present a low but definite activation rate of the kinin system, the plasmas of Bj, Bothrops mojeni (Bm) and Oxyrophus trigeminus (Ot), yielded only kininogen and kininases. Activation of the system was not even detected by the sensitive substrate Ac-Phe-Arg-Nan (acetyl-phenylalanyl-arginyl-4nitro-anilide), indicating that the plasma of these species does not possess either factor XII and/or prekallikrein. Snake plasma may constitute an interesting model for the study of blood clotting, fibrinolytic and complement systems.