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Cobra Venom Factor: The Unique Component of Cobra Venom That Activates the Complement System

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Snake Venoms

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

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Abstract

Cobra venom factor (CVF) is an unusual venom component in the venom of many elapid snakes. Although CVF occurs in venom, it is not a toxin but a protein component of venom that facilitates the entry of the toxic venom components into the bloodstream by inducing complement activation at the site of envenomation. This manuscript reviews the structure of CVF and how it interacts with the complement system. The high degree of structural and functional homology of CVF to complement component C3 is described. The review also describes recombinant CVF. CVF has been used for over four decades as a research tool to deplete serum complement in animals in order to delineate the biological functions of the complement system and its role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. CVF has also been used as an experimental tool to target complement activation. Lastly, CVF has served as a lead substance for the generation of human C3 derivatives with CVF-like functions as an experimental therapeutic for complement depletion in diseases with complement pathogenesis (humanized CVF).

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  1. University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel & David C. Fritzinger

  2. Department of Pathology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 701 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel

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Correspondence to Carl-Wilhelm Vogel .

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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

Appendix

Appendix

The taxonomy of the Asiatic cobras is complex and has undergone changes. There currently are eleven recognized species within the Asiatic cobra complex (Wüster 1996), six of which occur on the Asian mainland (N. naja (Indian or spectacled cobra), N. kaouthia (monocellate or monocled cobra), N. atra (Chinese cobra), N. oxiana (Central Asian cobra), N. siamensis (Indochinese spitting cobra), N. mandalayensis (Burmese spitting cobra)), including two species that were only rather recently described or redescribed (N. siamensis, N. mandalayensis) (Slowinski and Wüster 2000; Wüster et al. 1997), and five that occur only on Southeast Asian archipelagos of Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Andaman Islands (N. sputatrix (Southern Indonesian or Javan spitting cobra), N. philippinensis (northern Philippine cobra), N. sagittifera (Andaman cobra), N. samarensis (southern Philippine cobra), N. sumatrana (Equatorial spitting cobra)). Formerly, there was only one recognized Asiatic cobra species (N. naja) with multiple subspecies (e.g., N. n. naja, N. n. kaouthia, etc.) (Mehrtens 1987; Phelps 1981; Wüster 1996). Accordingly, many earlier reports in the toxinological literature, including reports on CVF, identify N. naja as the venom source (Cochrane et al. 1970; Müller-Eberhard and Fjellström 1971). Many studies denote the origin of the venom from N. n. siamensis (Eggertsen et al. 1981; Vogel and Müller-Eberhard 1984). However, N. n. siamensis was not a recognized species or subspecies until recently, and the older designation by venom suppliers of N. n. siamensis refers to the fact that the venom originated from Thailand. Most likely, the venom was derived from N. kaouthia, although the precise origin will remain obscure, and it may even represent a mixture of more than one species (Vogel 1991; Wüster and Harvey 1996; Wüster et al. 1997).

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Vogel, CW., Fritzinger, D.C. (2015). Cobra Venom Factor: The Unique Component of Cobra Venom That Activates the Complement System. 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_4-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6648-8_4-1

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