Laura-Oana Albulesco

1 month ago | biorxiv.org | Mark Wilkinson |Cassandra M Modahl |Anthony J. Saviola |Laura-Oana Albulesco

AbstractThe puff adder (Bitis arietans) is a highly venomous viper responsible for many fatalities in Africa, yet there have been few comprehensive analyses of its venom proteins, particularly of the proteases that play a key role in pathology of envenoming. To address this, we have isolated, identified and characterised the bioactivity of the venom metalloproteases of puff adders obtained from a wide range of sources. Prominent in all venoms was an SVMP PI, derived from a PII precursor.