Barietin, a snake venom vascular endothelial growth factor from puff adder Bitis arietans venom, increases the heart rate with minor effect on blood pressure in rats

  Barietin, a snake venom vascular endothelial growth factor from puff adder Bitis arietans venom, increases the heart rate with minor effect on blood pressure in rats ABSTRACT Snake venom vascular endothelial growth factors (svVEGFs) are homodimeric proteins comprising two equal subunits bound by two intermolecular disulfide bonds. The main biological effects of svVEGFs are local vasodilatation, increasing of vascular permeability, and hypotension. Barietin, a svVEGF purified from the venom of puff adder Bitis arietans , differs from other representatives of this toxin family by its shortened C-terminal amino acid sequence. No data about barietin effects on hemodynamics are available. Studying those in rats we found that barietin at a dose of 1 mg/kg significantly increased heart rate, exerting only a minor influence on blood pressure. In this respect, it differs from other svVEGFs having a significant effect on blood pressure. We aimed to find the barietin active fragment which m...

On the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876 in India and Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Araneae)

 


On the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876 in India and Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Araneae)

Abstract


We report the first record of the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876, and the genus Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 from India, including the first record, and a redescription of the widely distributed species, Dolomedes mizhoanus Kishida, 1936. We also review the two Dolomedes species previously known from Sri Lanka, and discuss the record of Dolomedes boiei (Doleschall, 1859) in Sri Lanka. We provide detailed descriptions and genitalic illustrations of Dolomedes karschi Strand, 1913 and D. mizhoanus, with a distribution map of the family in India and Sri Lanka. We also propose D. boiei to be treated as a nomen dubium due to its unknown type deposition and vague original description.

Sankaran, P. M. & Kadam, G. (2025). On the spider family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876 in India and Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Araneae). Zootaxa 5594(2): 258-268. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5594.2.2