ISOLATION OF PROTEIN FACTORS FROM OPOSSUM (DIDELPHIS-ALBIVENTRIS) SERUM WHICH PROTECT AGAINST BOTHROPS-JARARACA VENOM

The fractionation of Didelphis albiventris serum by DEAE-Sephadex A50 yields a fraction (DA2) which protects the opossum against Bothrops ve nom. One polypeptide (DA2-II) responsible for this protection was isol ated from fraction DA2 by ion exchange chromatography and biochemicall y characterized. DA2-II is a 43,000 mol. wt glycoprotein with the foll owing N-terminal sequence: LKAMDTTPPLKIKKEPVK. Pairwise comparison of the amino acid sequence with four anti-hemorrhagic factors isolated fr om other opossum species indicated that DA2-II possesses high similari ty (60-80%) with these proteins. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science L td