Volume 31, Issue 7 e21899
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Hemorrhagic metalloproteinase, Cc HSM-III, isolated from Cerastes cerastes venom: Purification and biochemical characterization

Wafa Tachoua

Wafa Tachoua

USTHB, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, BP 32, El-Alia Bab Ezzouar, 16111 Algiers, Algeria

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Hinda Boukhalfa-Abib

Hinda Boukhalfa-Abib

USTHB, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, BP 32, El-Alia Bab Ezzouar, 16111 Algiers, Algeria

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Fatima Laraba-Djebari

Corresponding Author

Fatima Laraba-Djebari

USTHB, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, BP 32, El-Alia Bab Ezzouar, 16111 Algiers, Algeria

Correspondence Fatima Laraba-Djebari.Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 28 February 2017
Citations: 7

Abstract

Snake venom metalloproteinases are the most abundant toxins in Viperidae venoms. In this study, a new hemorrhagin, Cc HSM-III (66 kDa), was purified from Cerastes cerastes venom by gel filtration, ion exchange, and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographies. The analysis of Cc HSM-III by liquid chromatography with a tandem mass spectrometry revealed 32 peptides sharing a homology with P-III metalloproteinases from Echis ocellatus snake venom. Cc HSM-III displays hemorrhagic activity with a minimal hemorrhagic dose of 5 μg, which is abolished by ethylene diamine tetracetic acid but not by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The mechanism underlying Cc HSM-III hemorrhagic activity is probably due to its extensive proteolytic activity against type IV collagen. Cc HSM-III induces local tissue damage and an inflammatory response by upregulating both matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9 in skin of mice. Thus, Cc HSM-III may play a key role in the pathogenesis of C. cerastes envenomation.

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