Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Proteome Res 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences , Jožef Stefan Institute , Jamova cesta 39 , SI-1000 Ljubljana , Slovenia.

The nose-horned viper, its nominotypical subspecies Vipera ammodytes ammodytes ( Vaa), in particular, is, medically, one of the most relevant snakes in Europe. The local and systemic clinical manifestations of poisoning by the venom of this snake are the result of the pathophysiological effects inflicted by enzymatic and nonenzymatic venom components acting, most prominently, on the blood, cardiovascular, and nerve systems. This venom is a very complex mixture of pharmacologically active proteins and peptides. Read More

An Acad Bras Cienc 2019 18;91(suppl 1):e20190080. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, 69080-900 Manaus, AM, Brazil.

Most species of Amazonian snakes have wide geographic distributions. However, local environmental factors influence the formation of assemblages in different localities. In this study, we investigated the composition of the assemblage and the effect of environmental variables on the distribution of the species inhabiting an upland forest in the Experimental Farm area of the Federal University of Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil. Read More

J Cell Biochem 2019 Apr 23. Epub 2019 Apr 23.

Biochemistry Laboratory, Departament of Chemistry, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil.

A large number of natural compounds, such as phenolic compounds, have been scientifically evaluated in the search for enzyme inhibitors. The interactions between the phenolic compound p-coumaric acid and the enzymes present in snake venoms (used as research tools) were evaluated in vitro and in silico. The p-coumaric acid was able to inhibit 31% of the phospholipase activity induced by Bothrops alternatus venom, 27% of the hemolytic activity induced by B. Read More

Ecol Evol 2019 Apr 14;9(7):3909-3917. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Depto de Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Filogenética e Funcional Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil.

Aim: The Theory of Island Biogeography posits that ecological and evolutionary processes regulate species richness of isolated areas. We assessed the influences of an island area and distance from the mainland on species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic composition of snakes on coastal islands.

Location: Coastal islands of the megadiverse Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. Read More

Toxicon 2019 Apr 20. Epub 2019 Apr 20.

National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, USA; Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, USA.

A novel snake venom cysteine-rich secretory protein (svCRiSP), Hellerin, was purified from C. o. helleri venom using sequential reverse phase and cation-exchange chromatography. Read More

Molecules 2019 Apr 16;24(8). Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Juriquilla, Querétaro 76230, México.

Snakebite envenoming is a serious medical problem in different areas of the world. In Latin America, the major prevalence is due to snakes of the family , where rattlesnakes () are included. They produce hemotoxic venom which causes bleeding, tissue degradation and necrosis. Read More

Res Pract Thromb Haemost 2019 Apr 15;3(2):298-299. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

School of Medicine and Public Health University of Newcastle Newcastle New South Wales Australia.

Pan Afr Med J 2018 4;31:85. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Militaire d'Instruction Mohammed V, Rabat, Maroc.

Medullary infarct is still little known influencing the short-term vital and functional prognosis of patients. Medullary vascularization is one of the most complex in the body due to the significant number of arteries that contribute to it. Our knowledge is still limited due to the scarcity of vascular medullary accidents and to low accessibility of medullary vessels during assessments. Read More

J Wildl Dis 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

1 Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, 1333 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.

Livers of 25 common garter snakes () from Minnesota (2015-2016) were analyzed for heavy metals by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Dry weight mean concentrations (ranges μg/g) were arsenic, 118.94 (0. Read More

Med Res Rev 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, India.

Antiplatelet drugs reduce the risks associated with atherothrombotic events and show various applications in diverse cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarctions. Efficacy of the current antiplatelet medicines including aspirin, clopidogrel, prasugrel and ticagrelor, and the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists, are limited due to their increased risks of bleeding, and antiplatelet drug resistance. Hence, it is important to develop new effective antiplatelet drugs, with fewer side-effects. Read More

J Chromatogr Sci 2019 Apr 20. Epub 2019 Apr 20.

Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El- Aini Street, Cairo 11562, Egypt.

Eptifibatide (EPT) is a cyclic heptapeptide derived from a protein found in the venom of the south-eastern pygmy rattle snake used as an antiplatelet drug. In this study, a newly developed HPLC method demonstrating no interference from the different degradation products of EPT has been optimized and validated. The method was based on HPLC separation of eptifibatide from its degradation products using reversed phase C18 column at ambient temperature with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: 50 mM sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate dihydrate, pH was adjusted to 2. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 19;9(1):6335. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Key Laboratory of Comprehensive Utilization of Advantage Plants Resources in Hunan South, College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Hunan University of Science and Engineering, Yongzhou, Hunan, China.

To further investigate the bacterial community and identify the bacterial biomarkers between venom secretion and non-venom secretion snakes, 50 intestinal samples (25 large intestine, 25 small intestine) were obtained from 29 snakes (13 gut samples from Deinagkistrodon, 26 from Naja and 11 from Ptyas mucosa). 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing results showed that 29 bacterial phyla, 545 bacterial genera, and 1,725 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) were identified in these samples. OTU numbers and the Ace, Chao, Shannon, and Simpson indexes were very similar among the three breeds of snakes included in this study. Read More

Int Immunopharmacol 2019 Apr 16;72:235-242. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Hand Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, The Second School of Medicine, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China. Electronic address:

Objective: Batroxobin is a medicinal preparation extracted from the venom of the Fer-de-Lance snake, and is used to lower blood viscosity, promote blood fibrinogen decomposition, and inhibit thrombosis. This research is to investigate whether batroxobin can improve the survival of random skin flaps in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: Dorsal McFarlane flaps were harvested from 36 rats divided into two groups. Read More

Expert Rev Proteomics 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

a Microbial Biotechnology and Protein Research Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology , Tezpur University , Tezpur 784028 , Assam , India.

Objectives: To study the venom proteome composition of Southern India (SI) Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and immunological cross-reactivity between venom against commercial antivenom.

Methods: Proteomic analysis was done by nano LC-MS/MS and toxins were quantitated by label-free analysis. The immunological cross-reactivity of venom towards polyvalent antivenom (PAV) was assessed by ELISA, Immunoblotting, and immuno-chromatographic methods. Read More

Vet Rec 2019 Apr;184(16):505-506

Great Western Exotic Vets, County Business Park, Units 10-16, Shrivenham Road, Swindon SN1 2NR.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, SB RAS, 8 Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia; Novosibirsk State University, 2 Pirogova St., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.

Recently, a new type of nucleic acid analogues with modified phosphate group, namely, phosphoryl guanidine oligonucleotides, has been described. In the present work, we assess the difference between diastereomers of a mono-substituted phosphoryl guanidine oligonucleotide and analyze their resistance to nuclease digestion. Individual diastereomers ('fast' and 'slow') of a trideoxynucleotide d (TpCp*A) were isolated by reverse-phase HPLC. Read More

Toxicon 2019 Apr 15;164:71-81. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical (INMeT), Neuquén y Jujuy s/n, 3370, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. Electronic address:

Most colubrid snake venoms have been poorly studied, despite the fact that they represent a great resource for biological, ecological, toxinological and pharmacological research. Herein, we explore the venom delivery system of the Aesculapian False Coral Snake Erythrolamprus aesculapii as well as some biochemical and toxicological properties of its venom. Its Duvernoy's venom gland is composed of serous secretory cells arranged in densely packed secretory tubules, and the most striking feature of its fang is their double-curved shape, exhibiting a beveled bladelike appearance near the tips. Read More

PeerJ 2019 12;7:e6706. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.

Background: Snakes are globally considered as pet animals, and millions of ophidians are bred in captivity. is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium that can act as an opportunistic pathogen of man and animals and is frequently present in the oral and cloacal microbiota of healthy ophidians. It can cause severe clinical diseases and often shows antibiotic resistance. Read More

PLoS One 2019 17;14(4):e0214889. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America.

Atractaspidines are poorly studied, fossorial snakes that are found throughout Africa and western Asia, including the Middle East. We employed concatenated gene-tree analyses and divergence dating approaches to investigate evolutionary relationships and biogeographic patterns of atractaspidines with a multi-locus data set consisting of three mitochondrial (16S, cyt b, and ND4) and two nuclear genes (c-mos and RAG1). We sampled 91 individuals from both atractaspidine genera (Atractaspis and Homoroselaps). Read More

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2019 Apr 11;52:e20180423. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Núcleo de Medicina Tropical, Santarém, PA,Brasil.

A case of a bite inflicted by Oxybelis fulgidus in the wilds of Amazon is reported. The patient was a 67-year-old man who presented with dizziness, tachycardia and local pain, with erythema and bleeding in his left arm. The venom of Oxybelis fulgidus, a neotropical rear-fanged snake, contains one of the four three-finger toxins already isolated from colubrid snakes, called fulgimotoxin. Read More

An Acad Bras Cienc 2019 8;91(1):e20170657. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Pasteur, 458, Urca, 22290-255 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

We analyzed some aspects of reproduction and sexual dimorphism of the semi-aquatic dipsadid snake Erythrolamprus miliaris in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. We detected sexual dimorphism in body size (snout-vent length), with females averaging larger than males, but no sexual dimorphism in the relative length of the tail. Oviductal eggs and secondary follicles were found in all seasons, suggesting that female reproductive cycles are continuous, in spite of the tropical seasonal climate in the region. Read More

BMC Evol Biol 2019 Apr 16;19(1):91. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Laboratory of Artificial & Natural Evolution (LANE), Department of Genetics & Evolution, University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland.

Background: Many species of snakes exhibit epidermal surface nanostructures that form complex motifs conferring self-cleaning properties, and sometimes structural iridescence, to their skin.

Results: Using confocal microscopy, we show that these specialised cells can be greatly elongated along their left-right axis and that different types of nanostructures are generated by cell borders and cell surface. To characterise the complexity and diversity of these surface gratings, we analysed scanning electron microscopy images of skin sheds from 353 species spanning 19 of the 26 families of snakes and characterised the observed nanostructures with four characters. Read More

Biol Lett 2019 Apr;15(4):20180905

1 Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 515 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 , USA.

It makes intuitive sense that you need a sharp tool to puncture through a tough material. The typical approach to evaluating sharpness in biological puncturing tools is to treat morphological measurements as a proxy for puncture ability. However, there are multiple approaches to measuring sharpness, and the relative influence of morphology on function remains unclear. Read More

Toxicon 2019 Apr 13;164:61-70. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Insituto Butantan, São Paulo, 05503-900, Brazil. Electronic address:

Variability in the composition of snake venoms occurs in different taxa and is usually correlated to snake fitness. Here, we compared B. atrox venoms from three different geographic regions across the Brazilian Amazon and found remarkable functional differences particularly between venoms from two populations separated by the Amazon River, in specimens born, raised and maintained under the same conditions at Instituto Butantan serpentary. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 15;9(1):6071. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Airway Innate Immunity Research (AiiR) Group, Centre for Experimental Medicine, The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK.

We investigated the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of Hc-cath, a cathelicidin peptide derived from the venom of the sea snake, Hydrophis cyanocyntus, using in vivo models of inflammation and infection. Hc-cath function was evaluated in in vitro, in vivo in the wax moth, Galleria mellonella, and in mouse models of intraperitoneal and respiratory Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Hc-Cath downregulated LPS-induced pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages and significantly improved the survival of P. Read More

J Family Med Prim Care 2019 Feb;8(2):342-346

Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Karaikal, Puducherry, India.

In developing countries, lack of access to roads is critical for medical supplies like vaccines and drugs. Air transport like a helicopter is expensive and not affordable. The success of drones in the fields of ecology and environment makes us believe that they can also be used in the field of Public Health as medical couriers. Read More

Vet Pathol 2019 Apr 14:300985819837722. Epub 2019 Apr 14.

1 Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA.

During a 19-month period, 5 smooth green snakes ( Opheodrys vernalis) maintained as an ex situ conservation colony presented with rapid clinical progression of locally invasive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. All 5 originated from the same wild source and were housed together or in close proximity. An infectious cause was considered likely, and nested conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of a novel alphaherpesvirus, Opheodrys herpesvirus 1, in the neoplastic tissue in 4 of the 5 snakes. Read More

J Bioenerg Biomembr 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Mari State University, pl. Lenina 1, Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El, 424001, Russia.

The article considers the comparative analysis of the functional activity of mitochondria isolated from the liver of grass snakes, Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758) that were kept at different temperatures (23-26 °C and 4-5 °C). It was found that liver mitochondria of hypothermia-exposed grass snakes are characterized by weak coupling of oxidative phosphorylation as compared to mitochondria of active animals which is caused by inhibition of succinate-fuelled respiration in ADP-stimulated state, as well as by activation of basal non-phosphorylating rate. Inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in hibernating animals is associated with a decrease in the activity of the respiratory chain complexes of organelles. Read More

Dev Dyn 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri.

Neural crest cells comprise a migratory progenitor cell population that differentiate into cell types such as neurons and glia of the peripheral nervous system, pigment cells, hormone secreting cells in glands, and skeletal and connective tissue in the head, thus making important contributions to most tissues and organs throughout the vertebrate body. The evolutionary appearance of neural crest cells is considered synonymous with the origin of vertebrates and their subsequent diversification and radiation. While the comparative biology of neural crest cells has been studied for a century and a half beginning with their discovery by Wilhelm His in 1868 (His, 1868), most of our understanding of their development and function has come from a small number of species. Read More

J Struct Biol 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

The birds and reptiles, collectively known as the sauropsids, can be subdivided phylogenetically into the archosaurs (birds, crocodiles), the testudines (turtles), the squamates (lizards, snakes) and the rhynchocephalia (tuatara). The structural framework of the epidermal appendages from the sauropsids, which include feathers, claws and scales, has previously been characterised by electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses, as well as by studies of the amino acid sequences of the constituent β-keratin proteins (also referred to as the corneous β-proteins). An important omission in this work, however, was the lack of sequence and structural data relating to the epidermal appendages of the rhynchocephalia (tuatara), one of the two branches of the lepidosaurs. Read More

Evol Appl 2019 Apr 28;12(4):664-678. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology and Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio.

Endangered species that exist in small isolated populations are at elevated risk of losing adaptive variation due to genetic drift. Analyses that estimate short-term effective population sizes, characterize historical demographic processes, and project the trajectory of genetic variation into the future are useful for predicting how levels of genetic diversity may change. Here, we use data from two independent types of genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs] and microsatellites) to evaluate genetic diversity in 17 populations spanning the geographic range of the endangered eastern massasauga rattlesnake (). Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 11;9(1):5940. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.

ADP-ribosylation is a post-translational modification that occurs on chemically diverse amino acids, including aspartate, glutamate, lysine, arginine, serine and cysteine on proteins and is mediated by ADP-ribosyltransferases, including a subset commonly known as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases. ADP-ribose can be conjugated to proteins singly as a monomer or in polymeric chains as poly(ADP-ribose). While ADP-ribosylation can be reversed by ADP-ribosylhydrolases, this protein modification can also be processed to phosphoribosylation by enzymes possessing phosphodiesterase activity, such as snake venom phosphodiesterase, mammalian ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1, Escherichia coli RppH, Legionella pneumophila Sde and Homo sapiens NudT16 (HsNudT16). Read More

J Exp Biol 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Colonization of novel habitats often requires plasticity or adaptation to local conditions. There is a critical need to maintain hydration in terrestrial environments having limited water. Atypical populations of Florida cottonmouth snakes, , inhabit continental islands with no permanent sources of fresh water. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2019 Apr 9;10(4). Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Av. André Araújo 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus CEP: 69067-375, AM, Brazil.

Amazonian puffing snakes ( Colubridae) are snakes widely distributed in the Neotropical region. However, chromosomal data are scarce in this group and, when available, are only limited to karyotype description using conventional staining. In this paper, we focused on the process of karyotype evolution and trends for sex chromosomes in two Amazonian Puffer Snakes ( and ). Read More

Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China.

Purpose: In recent years, with the increasing incidence of cervical cancer, it is a tedious and time-consuming task with unsatisfying accuracy to manually recognize the cells. Machine recognition can be a good solution, but it suffers from the difficulty of obtaining precise edges of cells, which directly influence the final recognition accuracy. To improve the recognition accuracy and shorten the time used for cell recognition, an AGVF-Snake (Adaptive Gradient Vector Flow-Snake) model for the extraction of cell edges has been proposed in this paper. Read More

Nat Prod Bioprospect 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Phytochemistry, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Uttarakhand Ayurved University, Harrawala, Dehradun, 248001, India.

The Himalayan region is the treasure house of natural wealth, particularly of medicinal and aromatic plants. These plants are used by the Indian traditional healers for the past many centuries to treat various ailments such as skin disorders, asthma, diabetes, snake bite, fever, pain, eye diseases, diarrhoea, indigestion, jaundice, burn, wound, liver disorder, CNS disorders and urinary tract infection. The indigenous traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and therapies of various local communities has been lost due to changes in traditional culture and the introduction of modern technologies. Read More

Front Behav Neurosci 2019 22;13:58. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Biological Science, University of Illinois, Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.

Foragers process information they gain from their surroundings to assess the risk from predators and balance it with the resources in their environment. Measuring these perceived risks from the perspective of the forager can produce a heatmap or their "fear" in the environments, a so-called "landscape of fear" (LOF). In an intercontinental comparison of rodents from the Mojave and Negev Deserts, we set to compare families that are used regularly as examples of convergent evolution, heteromyid and gerbilline respectively. Read More

Rural Remote Health 2019 Apr 10;19(2):4701. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Ciencias de la Salud y ecología Humana, Av. Independencia Nacional No. 151 Col. Centro CP 48900 Autlan de Jalisco, Mexico

In Latin America, 51 995 emergencies and 337 deaths are caused by snakebites yearly. Prompt and adequate treatment is crucial after an envenomation. We here report the case of a 40-year-old male agriculturalist, who was bitten by a venomous snake. Read More

Polymers (Basel) 2018 Mar 16;10(3). Epub 2018 Mar 16.

Polymer Physics, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.

We have recently solved the tumbling-snake model for concentrated polymer solutions and entangled melts in the presence of both steady-state and transient shear and uniaxial elongational flows, supplemented by a variable link tension coefficient. Here, we provide the transient and stationary solutions of the tumbling-snake model under biaxial elongation both analytically, for small and large elongation rates, and via Brownian dynamics simulations, for the case of planar elongational flow over a wide range of rates, times, and the model parameters. We show that both the steady-state and transient first planar viscosity predictions are similar to their uniaxial counterparts, in accord with recent experimental data. Read More

Proc Biol Sci 2019 Feb;286(1896):20182045

Department of Psychology, University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ , UK.

Many species employ camouflage to disguise their true shape and avoid detection or recognition. Disruptive coloration is a form of camouflage in which high-contrast patterns obscure internal features or break up an animal's outline. In particular, edge enhancement creates illusory, or 'fake' depth edges within the animal's body. Read More

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract 2019 May;22(2):285-300

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 2065 West Farm Road, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause for presentation of reptiles and amphibians to the veterinarian. A clinical approach to orthopedic cases starts with a thorough history and review of husbandry, and identification of any underlying or concomitant disease. Medical management is indicated for pathologic fractures. Read More

Pharmazie 2019 Mar;74(3):136-141

In a previous study, it was shown, that shed snake skin is a good alternative model membrane for the human stratum corneum (SC). In this study, the influence of the enhancers dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,2-pentanediol, 1,2-hexanediol and 1,2-octanediol in a concentration of 10 % on the permeation of l-prolyl- l-lysyl-l-α-glutamyl-l-lysin (PKEK) through shed snake skin was conducted. Pharmacokinetic parameters (diffusion coefficient, permeation coefficient, t-lag, Flux) were calculated. Read More

Polymers (Basel) 2019 Feb 20;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Polymer Physics, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, CH⁻8093 Zurich, Switzerland.

We have recently solved the tumbling-snake model for concentrated polymer solutions and entangled melts in the academic case of a monodisperse sample. Here, we extend these studies and provide the stationary solutions of the tumbling-snake model both analytically, for small shear rates, and via Brownian dynamics simulations, for a bidisperse sample over a wide range of shear rates and model parameters. We further show that the tumbling-snake model bears the necessary capacity to compare well with available linear and non-linear rheological data for bidisperse systems. Read More

Biol Lett 2019 Feb;15(2):20180876

1 Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University , Columbus, OH 43210 , USA.

Venom is a complex molecular phenotype that shows high levels of variation in expressed proteins between individuals within and between populations. However, the functional significance of this variation in terms of toxicity towards prey is largely unknown. Here, we assessed the relative toxicity of venom from individual pygmy rattlesnakes ( Sistrurus miliarius) on brown anoles ( Anolis sagrei) using a novel assay involving tests of fixed doses of venom from individual snakes on individual lizards. Read More

J Proteome Res 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

School of Biological Sciences , University of Northern Colorado , 501 20th Street, CB 92 , Greeley , Colorado 80639-0017 , United States.

The genus Trimeresurus comprises a group of venomous pitvipers endemic to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Of these, Trimeresurus insularis, the White-lipped Island Pitviper, is a nocturnal, arboreal species that occurs on nearly every major island of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. In the current study, venom phenotypic characteristics of T. Read More

PeerJ 2019 29;7:e6658. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Qiyang Gong Xinguo Breeding Co., Ltd, Yongzhou, Hunan, China.

Background: The gut microbiota plays an important role in host immunity and metabolic homeostasis. Although analyses of gut microbiotas have been used to assess host health and foster disease prevention and treatment, no comparative comprehensive study, assessing gut microbiotas among several species of farmed snake, is yet available. In this study, we characterized and compared the gut microbiotas of four species of farmed snakes (, , , and ) using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene in southern China and tested whether there was a relationship between gut microbiotal composition and host species. Read More

Trends Pharmacol Sci 2019 May 5;40(5):309-326. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Institute of Pharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent important drug targets, as they regulate pivotal physiological processes and they have proved to be readily druggable. Natural products have been and continue to be amongst the most valuable sources for drug discovery and development. Here, we surveyed small molecules and (poly-)peptides derived from plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria, which modulate GPCR signaling. Read More

Toxicon 2019 Apr 4;164:51-60. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Biological Sciences, 501 20th St., University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, 80639-0017, USA. Electronic address:

Many species of snakes produce venom as a chemical means of procuring potentially fractious prey. Studies have increasingly focused on venom compositional variation between and within individual snakes of the same species/subspecies, with significant differences often being observed. This variation in composition has been attributed to differences in age, season, diet, and environment, suggesting that these factors could help explain the inter- and intra-specific variation found in some snake venoms, perhaps via some type of feedback mechanism(s). Read More

Toxicon 2019 Apr 3;164:31-43. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Molecular Toxinology Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Assam, 784028, India. Electronic address:

Naja kaouthia is one of the most prevalent medically important snakes of North East India and Bangladesh responsible for most of the bite cases. In this study, an attempt was made to decipher venom variation of Naja kaouthia venom from North East India and Bangladesh. Using multidimensional methods including reverse phase HPLC, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D-PAGE) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE), the quantitative differences in venom composition have been revealed. Read More

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2019 Jul 22;100:23-29. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Escuela de Química, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica; Centro de Electroquímica y Energía Química (CELEQ), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. Electronic address:

Emulsions are crucial in the treatment of snake bites to bust the antibody response of the inmunogen. The widely used Freund's emulsion typically combines 50/50 water-oil (W/O) phase. However, its use is limited because it is associated with tissue damage. Read More