Viper Venom Phospholipase A2 Database: The Structural and Functional Anatomy of a Primary Toxin in Envenomation

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024

Authors

de Oliveira, ALN (Author) Other; Lacerda, MT (Author) Other; Ramos, MJ (Author) Other; Pedro A Fernandes (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Toxins

Vol. 16

Final page: 71

ISSN: 2072-6651

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-010-2CV

DOI: 10.3390/toxins16020071

Abstract (EN): Viper venom phospholipase A2 enzymes (vvPLA2s) and phospholipase A2-like (PLA2-like) proteins are two of the principal toxins in viper venom that are responsible for the severe myotoxic and neurotoxic effects caused by snakebite envenoming, among other pathologies. As snakebite envenoming is the deadliest neglected tropical disease, a complete understanding of these proteins' properties and their mechanisms of action is urgently needed. Therefore, we created a database comprising information on the holo-form, cofactor-bound 3D structure of 217 vvPLA2 and PLA2-like proteins in their physiologic environment, as well as 79 membrane-bound viper species from 24 genera, which we have made available to the scientific community to accelerate the development of new anti-snakebite drugs. In addition, the analysis of the sequenced, 3D structure of the database proteins reveals essential aspects of the anatomy of the proteins, their toxicity mechanisms, and the conserved binding site areas that may anchor universal interspecific inhibitors. Moreover, it pinpoints hypotheses for the molecular origin of the myotoxicity of the PLA2-like proteins. Altogether, this study provides an understanding of the diversity of these toxins and how they are conserved, and it indicates how to develop broad, interspecies, efficient small-molecule inhibitors to target the toxin's many mechanisms of action.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 27