1 fold higher than moojenin. The crude venom coagulated bovine plasma in 14 s (±1.3 s) while moojenin coagulated the plasma in 44 s (±1.6 s). We also tested the effects of several inhibitors on the coagulant activity of moojenin. Incubation of the isolated enzyme for 15 min at 37 °C with EDTA, 1,10 phenanthroline or β-mercaptoethanol inhibited its coagulant activity by 48, 100 and 66%, respectively. These results suggest that moojenin belongs

to the metalloproteinase class and that disulfide bridges are important for coagulant activity. Our results showed that moojenin (50 μg) rendered the blood uncoagulatable when administered to mice. Moojenin acts in vivo apparently by selleck chemical depleting circulating fibrinogen. These data suggest the potential use of this enzyme as an anticoagulant for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of thrombotic disorders. In addition, our results showed that the moojenin does not cause hemorrhage in mice with doses up to 50 g (data not shown). Myotoxicity is very common in Bothrops envenoming, and is generally associated with other local effects as hemorrhage, edema and pain ( Nishioka and Silvera, 1992). Several myotoxic components have been isolated from Bothrops snake venom, such as the metalloproteinases BaH1 ( Gutiérrez et al., 1995), Bhalternin ( Costa et al., 2010)

and BleucMP ( Gomes et al., 2011). Histological examination showed relevant morphological alterations in skeletal muscle and hepatic tissues induced by moojenin. The myonecrosis induced by moojenin was

mainly characterized by extensive altered cell morphology and inflammatory reaction. AC220 manufacturer Fig. 4B shows light micrographs of sections of mouse gastrocnemius muscle. Moojenin caused Bupivacaine intense myonecrosis evidenced by disorganized myofibrils, abundant inflammatory infiltrate (mainly polymorphonuclear cell infiltration) and fatty degeneration. The systemic effects of bothropic snakebites are frequently associated with haemorrhagic, coagulant and proteolytic activities that result in inflammatory processes and tissue destruction, triggering systemic failure (Warrell, 1995; Teibler et al., 1999). To evaluate the systemic effects, the mice were injected i.p. with moojenin (50 μg) and the heart, lung, liver and kidney were dissected out and analyzed histologically. Fig. 4E shows light micrographs of hepatic tissue evidencing necrosis and inflammatory infiltrate in central regions of the tissue induced by moojenin. Control groups did not show changes. In the lung, kidney and heart, moojenin did not induce histological alterations. We also investigated the involvement of moojenin in hyperalgesic and edematogenic responses. Intraplantar injection of moojenin (50 μg) into the rat hind-paw did not cause statistically significant edematogenic or hyperalgesic effects, compared to initial values (data not shown). These results indicate that moojenin does not participate in the genesis of these phenomena.