Bothrops andianus is a venomous snake found in the area of Machu Picchu (Peru). Its venom is not included in the antigenic pool used for production of the Peruvian anti-bothropic anti-venom. B. andianus venom can elicit many biological effects such as hemorrhage, hemolysis, proteolytic activity and lethality. The Peruvian anti-bothropic anti-venom displays consistent cross-reactivity with B. andianus venom, by ELISA and Western Blotting and is also effective in neutralizing the venom's toxic activities.

Introducción: La expresión recombinante de toxinas de origen ofídico ha permitido potenciar su estudio tanto estructural y funcional, especialmente en sus aplicaciones biomédicas. Pictobina es una enzima similar a trombina del veneno de B. pictus, especie endémica del Perú, que presenta un alto potencial. Objetivo: producir la versión recombinante de Pictobina (rPictobina) en el modelo eucariótico Piccha pastoris, Métodos: Se inició con las síntesis comerciales de la secuencia nucleotídica de Pictobina (750 pb), que incorpora los sitios de restricción EcoR I y Not I. Esta secuencia fue amplificada por PCR, insertada en el vector pPICZα-C y clonada en E. coli OneShot TOP10. Posteriormente, se amplificó el plásmido pPICZα-C–rPictobina para su transformación y expresión en el sistema Pichia pastoris GS115. Resultados: La expresión se logró tras la inducción con metan...

A thrombin-like enzyme, pictobin, was purified from Bothrops pictus snake venom. It is a 41-kDa monomeric glycoprotein as showed by mass spectrometry and contains approx. 45% carbohydrate by mass which could be removed with N-glycosidase. Pictobin coagulates plasma and fibrinogen, releasing fibrinopeptide A and induces the formation of a friableiporous fibrin network as visualized by SEM. The enzyme promoted platelet aggregation in human PRP and defibrination in mouse model and showed catalytic activity on chromogenic substrates S-2266, S-2366, S-2160 and S-2238. Pictobin interacts with the plasma inhibitor alpha 2-macroglobulin, which blocks its interaction with fibrinogen but not with the small substrate BApNA. Heparin does not affect its enzymatic activity. Pictobin cross reacted with polyvalent bothropic antivenom, and its deglycosylated form reduced its catalytic action and antiveno...