COMPARATIVE STUDIES AMONG THE FRESH WATER (Potamotrygon sp.)AND MARINE (Aetobatus sp. AND Dasyatis sp.)STINGRAY VENOMS

BARBARO, KC(1), CARDOSO, JLC(2), HADDAD JR, V(3)

(1)Laboratory of Imunopathology, (2)Vital Brazil Hospital, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, (3)Dermatology Department, UNESP, Botucatu.

Stingrays are cartilaginous fishes found along Brazilian coast and in some rivers of Northern and Middle-Western Brazil. Thevenom apparatus is located in their tail, comprised of bilaterally retroserrate spines covered by glandular and integument tissues. Pain is the most conspicuous symptom observed in accidents wounded by stingrays, whereas cutaneousnecrosis is commonly observed in accidents by fresh water stingray. The aim of this work was to characterize some aspects of fresh water and marine stingray venoms. By SDS-PAGE, the Aetobatussp. and Dasyatissp. venoms showed a similar electrophoretic profile which two major bands located around 10 and 15 kDa. Fresh water stingray (Potamotrygon) venom presented a major band of approximately 12 kDa. Several minor components distributed between 18 and 130 kDa were also detected in the three venoms. Lethal (mice) and dermonecroticactivities (rabbits) were not detected. Edematogenicactivity among all venoms was similar and dose-dependent. The presence of nociceptive activity was verified in all three venoms. Antigenic cross-reactivity was observed among the three venoms studied using anti-Dasyatis and anti-Potamotrygonsera produced in mice. These sera recognized different components above 50 kDa of each venom by Western blotting. The enzymatic activity was performed only with Potamotrygonsp. and Dasyatissp. venoms. Both venoms presented gelatinolytic and caseinolyticactivities which was much more evident in fresh water stingray venom. Hyaluronidase activity was detected only in a component around 84 kDa in Potamotrygonsp. venom. Our results demonstrated some differences among fresh water and marine stingray venoms which could explain partially the different clinical pictures presented by patients wounded by fresh water and marine stingrays.

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

BARBARO, KC., Laboratory of  Imunopathology, Instituto Butantan, Avenida Vital Brasil, 1500, 05503-900, São Paulo, SP, Brasil  E-mail: kbarbaro@usp.br