Selective lysis of virus-infected cells by cobra snake cytotoxins: A sendai virus, human erythrocytes, and cytotoxin model.

By using a Sendai virus-human erythrocyte model, this work found that virus-infected cells were 10-fold more susceptible to lysis in two of five examined cobra venoms. Four cytotoxins were isolated from the venom of the cobra Naja nigricollis that also showed 10-fold higher cytotoxicity toward virus-infected cells than to untreated cells. As selective destruction of virus-infected cells is of immense importance in clinical practice, this work demonstrates the potential of cobra cytotoxins to serve as leading compounds for the generation of derivatives or fractions with high cytotoxic specificity toward virus-infected cells. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.