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Cytotoxic Effects of Snake Venoms

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Book cover Snake Venoms

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

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Abstract

Venomous snake bites are known to cause large number of fatalities in many countries in Africa and Asia. However, apart from mortalities, a venomous bite of a member of Viperidae or Elapidae families also cause a number of severe local tissue damage which frequently leads to amputation of the bitten limb to save the life of the victim. Most of the victims of venomous snake bites are rural farmers of these developing or poor countries. Many families lose their livelihood as the bread earning member loses his active hand or leg. The major damages caused by these snakes include severe muscular damage and vascular damage, eventually causing gas gangrene. The cytological changes caused by some elapid snakes, like spitting cobras have been studied in some detail. However, the mechanisms of cytotoxicity caused by snake envenomations are far from clear. Present information indicates that metalloproteinases, lectins and phospholipases play important roles in cytotoxic damage in snake envenomation. Recent advances in cell biology and proteomics have started to reveal some facts related to their modes of actions. More in depth research on the cytotoxins will help us in at least two ways: first by better therapeutic intervention in snake envenomation and second, by developing the future arsenal against life threatening diseases by exploiting specificity of snake venom cytotoxins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, 403726, Goa, India

    Dibakar Chakrabarty & Angshuman Sarkar

Authors
  1. Dibakar Chakrabarty
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  2. Angshuman Sarkar
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Dibakar Chakrabarty or Angshuman Sarkar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    P. Gopalakrishnakone

  2. Biomedical Research Institute National Institute of Advanced Industria, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Hidetoshi Inagaki

  3. Department of Molecular Biology and Biot, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India

    Ashis K. Mukherjee

  4. Egyptian Society of Natural Toxins and Z, Faculty of Science Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

    Tarek R. Rahmy

  5. University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel

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Chakrabarty, D., Sarkar, A. (2016). Cytotoxic Effects of Snake Venoms. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Inagaki, H., Mukherjee, A., Rahmy, T., Vogel, CW. (eds) Snake Venoms. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6648-8_34-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6648-8_34-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6648-8

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