Characterization of the venom from Crotalus molossus nigrescens Gloyd (black tail rattlesnake): isolation of two proteases.

The venom from Crotalus molossus nigrescens contains many activities including: hyde powder azure proteinase; N-benzoyl-arginine-ethyl-ester hydrolase; phospholipase; phosphodiesterase; desoxyribonuclease; fibrinogen coagulase; collagenase, fibrinolytic activity, and hemorrhagic factors. The venom, assayed with amounts of venom up to 50 micrograms protein per assay, does not contain acetylcholinesterase, phosphatase, amylase, ribonuclease, tyrosyl-ester hydrolase or hyaluronidase activities. The venom is lethal to mice with an i.p. LD50 of 2.35 mg/kg mouse. Fractionation of soluble venom by Sephadex G-75 separates at least five families of components. Fractions I-III contains all the enzymes, and fraction V have six small peptides. Further separation of fractions II-III on diethyl-amino-ethyl-cellulose columns at pH 8.0 and 8.3 gave pure proteinase E with a mol. wt of 21,390 and the following N-terminal amino acid sequence; Phe-Ala-Lys-Arg-Tyr-Val-Glx-Leu-Val-Ile-Val-Ala. A thrombin-like enzyme with a mol. wt of 75,000 was also purified from this venom by means of affinity and ion exchange chromatographies.