Processing of Snake Venom Metalloproteinases: Generation of Toxin Diversity and Enzyme Inactivation

Abstract

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) are abundant in the venoms of vipers and rattlesnakes, playing important roles for the snake adaptation to different environments, and are related to most of the pathological effects of these venoms in human victims. The effectiveness of SVMPs is greatly due to their functional diversity, targeting important physiological proteins or receptors in different tissues and in the coagulation system. Functional diversity is often related to the genetic diversification of the snake venom. In this review, we discuss some published evidence that posit that processing and post-translational modifications are great contributors for the generation of functional diversity and for maintaining latency or inactivation of enzymes belonging to this relevant family of venom toxins.

Snake Venom Extracellular vesicles (SVEVs) reveal wide molecular and functional proteome diversity

“…This process controls the activation state of enzymes by blocking the catalytic site (inactivated state) and proteolytic processing of the prodomain (active state) 79 – 81 . As showed in previous studies 82 – 84 the prodomains of the SVMPs are cleaved after maturation in the Golgi complex or as soon as they reach the lumen of the venom gland. Our proteomic data did not identify any peptide belonging to the prodomain site (Supplementary Fig.…”

Proteomic Investigations of Two Pakistani Naja Snake Venoms Species Unravel the Venom Complexity, Posttranslational Modifications, and Presence of Extracellular Vesicles

“…In the present work, three types of posttranslational modification were also observed, i.e., N-terminus pyro-glutamate, methionine oxidation and N-terminal acetylation (N-ace). Pyro-glutamate posttranslational modifications of the venom proteins has been described before and are known to confer stability to the proteins and peptides [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. However, modification of methionine residues and pyro-glutamate cannot be excluded during sample preparation.…”

Impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation 2015-2016 on the soluble proteomic profile and cytolytic activity of Millepora alcicornis (“fire coral”) from the Mexican Caribbean

“…However, the different kinds of cnidarian metalloproteinases and their effects are not yet clear. It has been demonstrated that SVMPs undergo various post-translational modifications, which contribute to their great functional diversity ( Moura-da-Silva et al, 2016 ). This could be the case of cnidarian metalloproteinases.…”