Previous studies have demonstrated that the phospholipase A from cobra venom can uncouple oxidative phosphorylation in brain and liver mitochondria (Aravindakshan & Braganca, 1959). These effects had been observed both in experiments in vitro as well as in animals injected with the material. Comparative studies carried out with animals injected with crude cobra venom and with heated venom (phos...

Anti snake venom (ASV) is the most specific therapy available for treatment of snakebite envenomation. The ASV available in Nepal are polyvalent ASV produced in India and are effective against envenomation by cobra and krait, the two most common species found in Eastern Nepal. Neurotoxic signs respond slowly and unconvincingly and continuous absorption of venom may cause recurrent neurotoxicity...

There are indications that complement activation may be involved in inflammatory processes of the cornea. To investigate the role of the complement system in experimental keratitis, rats were depleted of their plasma complement by treatment with cobra venom factor (CVF). intraperitoneal injection of CVF resulted in undetectable complement serum activity for 6 days when measured by a hemolytic a...

Complement acts as a danger-sensing system in the innate immune system, and its activation initiates a strong inflammatory response and cleavage of the proteins C3 and C5 by proteolytic enzymes, the convertases. These contain a non-catalytic substrate contacting subunit (C3b or C4b) in complex with a protease subunit (Bb or C2a). We determined the crystal structures of the C3b homologue cobra v...

We have studied the role of complement in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) by comparing the effects of injection of three preparations of LPS from E. Coli 0111:B4, S. minnesota Re595, and S. marcescens. Injections of nonlethal doses of these LPS preparations into normal rabbits produced decreases in mean arterial blood pressure during...

The course of infection with an attenuated strain of fowlpox virus (FPV), which is known to induce antibody-independent activation of complement via the alternative pathway, was investigated in 1- to 3-day-old chickens and 14-day-old chicken embryos by treatment with cobra venom factor (CVF). CVF was found to inhibit complement activity transiently via the alternative pathway but not via the cl...

Immune protection by the complement system critically depends on assembly of C3 convertases on the surface of pathogens and altered host cells. These short-lived protease complexes are formed through pro-convertases, which for the alternative pathway consist of the complement component C3b and the pro-enzyme factor B (FB). Here, we present the crystal structure at 2.2-A resolution, small-angle ...