Embodiments of natural and synthetic lethal toxin neutralizing factors and their utility as treatment for envenomation

摘要

Opossum whole serum exhibits a life saving property by neutralizing the lethality of venoms from all major families of poisonous snakes, and therefore an injection of Opossum serum can used as a novel treatment for many types of envenomation. Preferably, the injectable treatment for envenomation should be a composition obtained from the fraction of Opossum whole serum which contains the lethal toxin neutralizing factor, i.e. the so called "natural LTNF", in purity. A method is given for the manufacture of a lethal toxin neutralizing factor from the serum of an opossum (Didelphis virginiana) serum, by fractionating the opossum serum and isolating this select fraction from the plurality of fractions having an N terminal amino acid sequence given by SEQ ID No: 1. A short peptide was synthesized having SEQ ID No: 1. The synthetic peptide having sequence SEQ ID No: 1 shows lethal toxin neutralizing activity similar to the natural LTNF from opossum or mongoose sera. The synthetic LTNF also has life saving utility.