Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins
Snake venoms possess lethal activities against different organisms, ranging from bacteria to higher vertebrates. Several venoms were shown to be active against protozoa, however, data about the anti-protozoan activity of cobra and viper venoms are very scarce. We tested the effects of venoms from se...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/5/325 |
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| author | Olga N. Kuleshina Elena V. Kruykova Elena G. Cheremnykh Leonid V. Kozlov Tatyana V. Andreeva Vladislav G. Starkov Alexey V. Osipov Rustam H. Ziganshin Victor I. Tsetlin Yuri N. Utkin |
| author_facet | Olga N. Kuleshina Elena V. Kruykova Elena G. Cheremnykh Leonid V. Kozlov Tatyana V. Andreeva Vladislav G. Starkov Alexey V. Osipov Rustam H. Ziganshin Victor I. Tsetlin Yuri N. Utkin |
| author_sort | Olga N. Kuleshina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Snake venoms possess lethal activities against different organisms, ranging from bacteria to higher vertebrates. Several venoms were shown to be active against protozoa, however, data about the anti-protozoan activity of cobra and viper venoms are very scarce. We tested the effects of venoms from several snake species on the ciliate <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i>. The venoms tested induced <i>T. pyriformis</i> immobilization, followed by death, the most pronounced effect being observed for cobra <i>Naja sumatrana</i> venom. The active polypeptides were isolated from this venom by a combination of gel-filtration, ion exchange and reversed-phase HPLC and analyzed by mass spectrometry. It was found that these were cytotoxins of the three-finger toxin family. The cytotoxins from several cobra species were tested and manifested toxicity for infusorians. Light microscopy revealed that, because of the cytotoxin action, the infusorians’ morphology was changed greatly, from teardrop-like to an almost spherical shape, this alteration being accompanied by a leakage of cell contents. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the fluorescently labelled cytotoxin 2 from cobra <i>N. oxiana</i> was localized mainly at the membrane of killed infusorians, indicating that cytotoxins may kill <i>T. pyriformis</i> by causing membrane rupture. This work is the first evidence of the antiprotozoal activity of cobra venom cytotoxins, as demonstrated by the example of the ciliate <i>T. pyriformis</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:49:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-785fe931be6e4894b8ba5aa0a9443672 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:49:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-785fe931be6e4894b8ba5aa0a94436722023-11-20T00:32:01ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512020-05-0112532510.3390/toxins12050325Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra CytotoxinsOlga N. Kuleshina0Elena V. Kruykova1Elena G. Cheremnykh2Leonid V. Kozlov3Tatyana V. Andreeva4Vladislav G. Starkov5Alexey V. Osipov6Rustam H. Ziganshin7Victor I. Tsetlin8Yuri N. Utkin9Gabrichevsky Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, ul. Admirala Makarova 10, Moscow 125212, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaMental Health Research Centre, Kashirskoye shosse, 34, Moscow 115522, RussiaGabrichevsky Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, ul. Admirala Makarova 10, Moscow 125212, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaShemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow 117997, RussiaSnake venoms possess lethal activities against different organisms, ranging from bacteria to higher vertebrates. Several venoms were shown to be active against protozoa, however, data about the anti-protozoan activity of cobra and viper venoms are very scarce. We tested the effects of venoms from several snake species on the ciliate <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i>. The venoms tested induced <i>T. pyriformis</i> immobilization, followed by death, the most pronounced effect being observed for cobra <i>Naja sumatrana</i> venom. The active polypeptides were isolated from this venom by a combination of gel-filtration, ion exchange and reversed-phase HPLC and analyzed by mass spectrometry. It was found that these were cytotoxins of the three-finger toxin family. The cytotoxins from several cobra species were tested and manifested toxicity for infusorians. Light microscopy revealed that, because of the cytotoxin action, the infusorians’ morphology was changed greatly, from teardrop-like to an almost spherical shape, this alteration being accompanied by a leakage of cell contents. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the fluorescently labelled cytotoxin 2 from cobra <i>N. oxiana</i> was localized mainly at the membrane of killed infusorians, indicating that cytotoxins may kill <i>T. pyriformis</i> by causing membrane rupture. This work is the first evidence of the antiprotozoal activity of cobra venom cytotoxins, as demonstrated by the example of the ciliate <i>T. pyriformis</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/5/325snake venomcytotoxinprotozoaciliate <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i>immobilizationmembrane rupture |
| spellingShingle | Olga N. Kuleshina Elena V. Kruykova Elena G. Cheremnykh Leonid V. Kozlov Tatyana V. Andreeva Vladislav G. Starkov Alexey V. Osipov Rustam H. Ziganshin Victor I. Tsetlin Yuri N. Utkin Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins Toxins snake venom cytotoxin protozoa ciliate <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i> immobilization membrane rupture |
| title | Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins |
| title_full | Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins |
| title_fullStr | Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins |
| title_short | Screening Snake Venoms for Toxicity to <em>Tetrahymena Pyriformis</em> Revealed Anti-Protozoan Activity of Cobra Cytotoxins |
| title_sort | screening snake venoms for toxicity to em tetrahymena pyriformis em revealed anti protozoan activity of cobra cytotoxins |
| topic | snake venom cytotoxin protozoa ciliate <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i> immobilization membrane rupture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/5/325 |
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