Introduction: It is estimated that 2 000 snakebites occur in Panama every year, 70 % of which are inflicted by Bothrops asper. Objective: To determine the biochemical and toxicologic effects and to assess the immunochemical characteristics of a reference pool of B. asper venom representative of Panama. Methods: The reference venom was prepared as a homogeneous mixture of the venoms obtained from 78 adult snakes collected in four geographic areas of Panama. Enzymatic and toxicological activities were assessed. The electrophoretic pattern was studied by SDS-PAGE. Immunoreactivity of various antivenoms was analyzed by Western blot. Results: B. asper reference venom has lethal, hemorrhagic, myotoxic, edema-forming, coagulant, defibrinating, proteinase and phospholipase A2 activities. SDS-PAGE showed the presence of protein bands with molecular weights ranging from 8 to 70 kDa, with the presence of predominant bands at ≈ 15 kDa and ≈ 30 to 66 kDa, which likely correspond to phospholipases A2 and metalloproteinases, respectively. Immunoblotting showed a high degree of recognition by various antivenoms, especially by antivenoms from Colombia and Costa Rica. Conclusions: Following recommendations by the World Health Organization, this reference venom of B. asper of Panama will become a useful tool for the preclinical evaluation of antivenoms distributed in this country.
CITATION STYLE
Uribe-Arjona, A., de Patiño, H. A., Martínez-Cortés, V., Correa-Ceballos, D., Rodríguez, A., Gómez-Leija, L., … Otero-Patiño, R. (2021). Toxicological, enzymatic, and immunochemical characterization of bothrops asper (Serpentes: Viperidae) reference venom from panama. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 69(1), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.15517/RBT.V69I1.39502
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