A lectin was purified from Crotalaria paulina seeds by ion-exchange and FPLC molecular exclusion chromatography. CrpL had an apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE under non-reducing and reducing conditions. CrpL effectively agglutinated human and cow erythrocytes, and this activity was not affected by 20 mM EDTA, showing no dependence of divalent cations. Hemagglutination was inhibited by N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, D-galactose and was also inhibited by glycoproteins, fetuin and asialofetuin. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of CrpL was identical to those of other lectins from the genus Crotalaria, and amino acid composition showed high amounts of Asx and Glx, and was rich in Gly, Ala and Ser, as also reported for lectins from other Crotalaria species. CrpL inhibited the growth of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, suggesting a role of this lectin in the defense of seeds against bacterial infections.

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In the present was work reported the purification of the metalloprotease BthMP, from the venom of Bothrops moojeni. For purification of the protease was used ion exchange chromatography (DEAE-Sepharose) and molecular exclusion , the product of these processes was a protein band with high purity, visualized on SDS-PAGE 14%, referred the BthMP. This protease when analyzed on MALDI-TOF revealed the molecular weight of the native form of 23.050 Da and 23.872 Da in the reduced form, and from the peptide fragments obtained by Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) in MS (MALDI-TOF/TOF) was observed high similarity with BmooMPα-I metalloprotease. In enzymatic terms, BthMP showed proteolytic activity on azocasein using PMSF and benzamidine, while this activity was inhibited in the presence of EDTA; 1,10-Phenanthroline and β-mercaptoethanol, it is therefore a zinc-dependent metalloprotease of the class P-I. To still with this purpose, we contemplate its enzymatic specificity of the Aα and Bβ chains of fibrinogen and also the consumption of fibrinogen in vivo. It was also found its action on the components of the coagulation cascade, due to prolongation of prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time. Thus, the sharp fibrinogenolytic activity and the high consumption of fibrinogen in vivo are results that indicate the anticoagulant action of BthMP; furthermore, their ability to interfere with the coagulation cascade suggested that this protease is promising for future studies that might indicate a new antithrombotic agent model. K E Y W O R D SCoagulation cascade, Metalloproteinase, Venom snake R E S U M ONeste trabalho relatamos a purificação da metaloprotease BthMP, proveniente da peçonha da serpente Bothrops moojeni. Para a purificação desta protease, utilizaram-se os passos cromatográficos de troca iônica (DEAE-Sepharose) e de exclusão molecular (Sephadex G-75), sendo o produto desses processos uma banda proteica com elevado grau de pureza, visualizada em SDS-PAGE a 14%, denominada BthMP. Esta, por sua vez, quando analisada em MALDI-TOF revelou a massa molecular nativa de 23.050 Da e 23.872 Da na forma reduzida, e a partir dos fragmentos peptídicos obtidos por Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) em MS (MALDI-TOF/TOF) indicou alta similaridade com a metaloprotease BmooMPα-I. Em termos enzimáticos, BthMP mostrou atividade proteolítica sobre azocaseína e frente ao PMSF e benzamidina, enquanto que esta atividade foi inibida na presença de EDTA, 1,10-fenantrolina e β-mercaptoetanol, sendo portanto uma metaloprotease zinco dependente da classe P-I. Ainda com este propósito, verificou-se sua especificidade enzimática sobre as cadeias Aα e Bβ do fibrinogênio, e também o consumo de fibrinogênio in vivo. Foi constatado ainda sua ação em componentes da cascata de coagulação, devido ao prolongamento do Tempo de Protrombina (TP) e do Tempo de Tromboplastina Parcial ativada (TTPa). Desta forma, a acentuada atividade fibrinogenolítica e o alto consumo de fibrinogênio in vivo são resultados que indicam a ação anticoagulante da BthMP; al...

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Effect of chronic diseases and the use of total prostheses...