Unveiling toxicological aspects of venom from the Aesculapian False Coral Snake Erythrolamprus aesculapii
Most colubrid snake venoms have been poorly studied, despite the fact that they represent a great resource for biological, ecological, toxinological and pharmacological research. Herein, we explore the venom delivery system of the Aesculapian False Coral Snake Erythrolamprus aesculapii as well as so...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Toxicon (Oxford) 2019-06, Vol.164, p.71-81 |
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Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Most colubrid snake venoms have been poorly studied, despite the fact that they represent a great resource for biological, ecological, toxinological and pharmacological research. Herein, we explore the venom delivery system of the Aesculapian False Coral Snake Erythrolamprus aesculapii as well as some biochemical and toxicological properties of its venom. Its Duvernoy's venom gland is composed of serous secretory cells arranged in densely packed secretory tubules, and the most striking feature of its fang is their double-curved shape, exhibiting a beveled bladelike appearance near the tips. Although E. aesculapii resembles elapid snakes of the genus Micrurus in color pattern, this species produces a venom reminiscent of viperid venoms, containing mainly tissue-damaging toxins such as proteinases. Prominent hemorrhage developed both locally and systemically in mice injected with the venom, and the minimum hemorrhagic dose was found to be 18.8 μg/mouse; the lethal dose, determined in mice, was 9.5 ± 3.7 μg/g body weight. This work has toxicological implications that bites to humans by E. aesculapii could result in moderately severe local (and perhaps systemic) hemorrhage and gives insight into future directions for research on the venom of this species.
•Rear fangs of Erythrolamprus aesculapii are grooved, with a double-curved shape and beveled blade-like edge near the tips.•The Duvernoy's venom gland is arranged in densely packed secretory tubules containing mainly serous secretory cells.•The venom consists mainly of serine and metalloproteinases, similar to viperid venoms.•Mice receiving lethal doses of venom showed substantial hemorrhage, both locally and systemically (mainly in lungs). |
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ISSN: | 0041-0101 1879-3150 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.04.007 |