Vipern der Nordost-Türkei : Genfluss und Umweltfaktoren zwischen denTaxa des Vipera-barani-kaznakovi-darevskii-Komplexes

Die Türkei ist ein wichtiger Biodiversitäts-Hotspot für paläarktische Arten aus Europa,Asien und Nordafrika. Diese Situation macht das Land besonders attraktiv für Studien an weit verbreiteten Tiergruppen wie Vipern, die im kleinasiatischen Raum allgegenwärtig sind, aber durch ihre versteckte Lebensweise und teilweise geringen Populationsdichten wenig erforscht sind. Ein aktuelles Förderprojekt des Wilhelm-Peters-Fonds der DGHT untersucht Populationen verschiedener türkischer Viperntaxa im Freilan

Cytotoxic potential of Wagner's Viper, Montivipera wagneri, venom

WOS: 000390429300009Snake venoms contain a variety of biologically active proteins, which have therapeutic potential. Montivipera wagneri is an endemic mountain viper species of Turkey. In this study, the cytotoxic activity of M. wagneri crude venom was investigated against A549, HeLa, CaCo-2, U-87MG, PC3 and MCF-7 cancerous cells and non-cancerous cells Vero and HEK293 by MTT assay. The IC50 values of M. wagneri crude venom on cultured cells varied from 1.02 +/- 0.02 to 19.76 +/- 0.42 mu g/ml, with the most potent activities against A549 and CaCo-2 cells. The present work documents the venom of M. wagneri for the first time, showing promising results as a potential source for cytotoxic proteins or peptides

The Fourier Transform Infrared (Ftir) Spectroscopic and Mass Spectrometric Metabolomics Studies of Ankaferd Hemostat

Ankaferd is a traditional folkloric medicine that has been used in Anatolia as a hemostatic agent for centuries. Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) is comprised of a standardized plant extracts of T. vulgaris, G. glabra, V. vinifera, A.officinarum and U. Dioica. ABS modulates cellular apoptotic responses to hemorrhagic stress, as well as the hemostatic hemodynamic activity. Although the effects of ABS mainly depends upon the formation of an encapsulated protein network representing focal points for vital erythrocyte aggregation, integration of the functional proteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics will be important for detecting the exact 'mechanism-of-action' of ABS. In order to analyse the fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic and mass spectrometric metabolomics, we prepared two-dimensional protein samples and used a Tensor 27 FTIR spectrometer, equipped with a high throughput extension (HTS-XT) accessory. The derivative spectra of metabolomic content of ABS and mass spectrometric and FTIR results were demonstrated. Biological fatty acids such as octanoic acid, heptanoic acid, decanoic acid, eicosanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, and others have been detected in the metabolomics of ABS. Our results about mass spectrometry and FTIR spectroscopy analyses ABS content within the many crossroads of hemostasis, infection, and neoplasia. Metabolomics studies may shed further light and represent a novel starting point on that perspective for the new avenues of ABS.WoSScopu

New records and search for contact zones among parapatric vipers in the genus Vipera (barani, kaznakovi, darevskii, eriwanensis), Montivipera (wagneri, raddei), and Macrovipera (lebetina) in northeastern Anatolia

North-eastern anatolia harbours a high diversity of viperid snakes with only a limited knowledge about their distribution and with relationships among these vipers not yet fully resolved. Moreover, information on habitat attributes for most of these vipers is scarce. We initiated a multi-year project to improve our knowledge on their distribution and habitat preferences, especially by searching contact zones of closely related and ecologically similar species and evaluate potential gene ow and species integrity. in this context and as an intermittent step, we report new localities nearby putative contact zones. thus, herein we present new information on the distribution of Vipera barani, V. kaznakovi, V. darevskii, V. eriwanensis, Montivipera wagneri, M. raddei and Macrovipera lebetina based on our eld work and third sources provided to us. With these data, we were able to reduce the distribution gaps between three pairs of “parapatric”, related or ecologically similar, viper species (genus Vipera) by mostly 50%, and detected a putative contact zone in a fourth species pair (genus Montivipera). all putative contact zones are discussed in an ecological context. in addition, we add new sites of M. lebetina in the Province artvin and discuss its northern limit in turkey

In Vitro Cytotoxic and Proapoptotic Activities of Anatolian Macrovipera Lebetina Obtusa (Dwigubski, 1832) Crude Venom on Cultured K562 Human Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Cells

WOS: 000373662500005In the context of searching for anticancer compounds in natural products, snake venom is one of the important sources for peptide/protein based bioactive molecules. Proteins and peptides with anticancer activity were purified and identified from snake venoms. The aim of the present study was to determine the in vitro cytotoxicity of Macrovipera lebetina obtusa (Blunt-Nosed Viper) crude venom from southeastern Anatolia against K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Adenosine tripohsphate (ATP) assays. Additionally, the apoptosis induction was assessed by morphological evaluation and immunohistochemical analysis for activated caspase-3. For histopahtological evaluation, haematoxylineosin, giemsa and papanicolau stains were used in combination. M. L obtusa venom showed dose-dependent toxicity against K562 cells after 72 h treatment with different concentrations of crude venom. 1050 values were 0.45 and 0.37 mu g/mL for MTT and ATP assays, respectively. Nuclear fragmentation and condensation, apoptotic bodies and activation of caspase-3, as an induction of apoptosis were also observed in K562 cells. Since apoptosis-inducing compounds are important for the treatment of cancer, further studies on Anatolian M. I. obtusa venom could result in the purification and identification of new proteins and peptides, which might have therapeutic value for the treatment of CML