PURIFICATION OF HYALURONIDASE AND FIBRINOGENOLITIC ENZYMES FROM THE VENOM OF THE BRAZILIAN SCORPION Tityus serrulatus

BORGES M. H. (1,2), ASSIS I. S. (1), REZENDE F. F. (1), OLIVEIRA C. F. B. (1), GONÇALVES J. M. (1), BATISTA C. R(1), PIMENTA A.M.C. (2), NASCIMENTO D.G. (2), RICHARDSON M. (1), CORDEIRO M. N. (1), DE LIMA M.E. (2)

(1) Lab. de Bioquímica e Química de Proteínas, Diretoria de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, FUNED, (2) Lab. De Venenos e Toxinas Animais-LVTA, Departamento de Bioquímica - UFMG

Arthropod venoms are very complex mixtures of molecules, including peptides, proteins and enzymes that display a wide range of pharmacological activities, mainly on nervous systems. Scorpion venoms have been characterized and many of their components bind specifically to ion channels, resulting in neurotoxic effects. Also enzymes that show gelatinolytic activity have been detected in Tityus bahiensis and Tityus serrulatus venom. These enzymes can be involved in tissue permeabilization and toxin processing. In this work we report the identification of hyaluronidase and fibrinogenolytic enzymes from the South American scorpion Tityus serrulatus. Initially, the venom was submitted to gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. The fractions active for hyaluronidase and fibrinogenolytic activities were submitted to ânion-exchange chromatography on HPLC system (column resource Q). SDS-PAGE zymogram tests using hyaluronic acid as substrate showed the presence of hyaluronidase in the crude venom and in several fractions. Similar results were obtained when fibrinogen was incubated with the venom at 37oC. These results demonstrate the presence of hyaluronidase and fibrinogenolitic enzymes in the venom of T. serrulatus.

KEY WORDS: Tituys serrulatus, arthropod venoms, enzymes, hyaluronidase, fribrinogenolic activity

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: FAPEMIG, CNPq, FUNED

CORRESPONDENCE TO: MÁRCIA H. BORGES, Laboratório de Bioquímica e Química de Proteínas, Diretoria de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Fundação Ezequiel Dias. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. Email: marcia.borges@funed.mg.gov.br