Biochemical characterization of hemorrhagic toxin from Crotalus viridis viridis (prairie rattlesnake) venom

Hemorrhage, necrosis and edema are some of the effects often observed following snake bites. This paper reports studies on the isolation and biological properties of hemorrhagic toxin from Crotalus viridis viridis (Prairie rattlesnake) venom. A hemorrhagic toxin was isolated from C. v. viridis venom by Sephadex G-50, DEAE-Sephacel and Q-Sepharose column chromatographies. The hemorrhagic toxin from C. v. viridis venom was shown to be homogenous as demonstrated by a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunodiffusion. Its molecular weight was approximately 54,000 daltons, and it contained 471 amino acid residues. The toxin possessed hemorrhagic activity with a minimum hemorrhagic dose (MHD) of 0.11 micrograms and hydrolytic activity on dimethylcasein, casein, azocasein, azoalbumin, azocoll and hide powder azure. Hemorrhagic and casein hydrolytic activities were inhibited by EDTA, o-phenanthroline or dithiothreitol. The toxin contained 1 mole of zinc per mole of protein and zinc is essential for both hemorrhagic and proteolytic activities. Hemorrhagic toxin possessed hydrolytic activity on the B-chain of insulin, which cleaves His(5)-Leu(6), His(10)-Leu(11), Ala(14)-Leu(15), Tyr(16)-Leu(17) and Phe(24)-Phe(25) bonds. This toxin also hydrolyzed A alpha and B beta chains of fibrinogen. Intramuscular injections of hemorrhagic toxin caused an increase of creatine phosphokinase activity in mice serum from 50.3 mU/ml to 1133 mU/ml. A toxin isolated from C. v. viridis venom was shown to have strong hemorrhagic activity. Partial characterization is reported for this major hemorrhagic toxin in C. v. viridis venom.