Research Interests

My postdoctoral mentor, Dr. Ivan I. Kaiser, and I completed the covalent structure of crotoxin, which had bedeviled toxinologists for nearly 50 years. Because I maintained a colony of several hundred rattlesnakes and extracted and studied individual venoms, I discovered the first evidence for duplicated loci and variable post-template processing among small myotoxins, the first case involving venom proteins.


In the early 1990s, I isolated a novel antagonist of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that apparently has different receptor subtype specificity from anything else. In 1986, I discovered a novel peptide in Prairie rattlesnake venom. This peptide structurally resembles the bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), but may be an inhibitor of prolyl aminopeptidase rather than of angiotensin-converting enzyme, as are other BPPs. The coding region for this peptide unexpectedly turned up in the middle of the ACEI/BPP-CNP precursor from several rattlesnake venoms. This work is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Shigesada Higuchi and Dr. Nobuhiro Murayama of Showa University School of Pharmacy in Tokyo. A manuscript is currently in progress and cardiovascular physiology studies are being conducted by Dr. Saad Lahlou at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife, PE, Brasil.


While sidelined in Fortaleza, Brasil, (1999-2001) for lack of reagents, I began investigating the reason for the presence of many nontoxic enzymes in snake venoms, and also the reason for the presence of guanosine in coral snake venoms.  I had no idea at the outset that both questions had a common answer. The result of that study was a 70-page review paper showing that purines, either exogenous or endogenous, are central elements of all snake envenomation strategies. I have outlined more than 20 future studies based upon hypotheses from that paper alone, pertaining to blood coagulation, nitric oxide and hypotension, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, synergism between phosphodiesterase and heparinase, and previously unknown roles for leucine aminopeptidase, L-amino acid oxidase, and acetylcholinesterase.


Currently with my students, I am investigating the structure and pharmacology of venom phosphodiesterases and dipeptidyl peptidase IV. The latter enzyme is known to play a pivotal role in many processes (diabetes, blood pressure regulation, tissue growth and remodeling, and immune system regulation). Dr. Nelson Jorge da Silva of Universidade Católica de Goiás, Goiânia, Brasil, and I discovered DPP IV in coral snake venoms in 1999, and I am now working on its isolation and characterization. The purification initially proved difficult due to the enzyme’s low titer and its secretion in exosomes (Ogawa et al., 2006).


My training in biology has proven invaluable in my research. Using snake ecology as a guide, I have been successful in discovering novel compounds, some of which have the potential to become standard tools in neurobiology and may impact our understanding of matters as diverse as synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation, learning and memory, nociception, anoxia, ischemia, stroke, seizures, epilepsy, hearing, apoptosis, proliferation of human colon adenocarcinomas, astrocytomas, breast and lung carcinomas, and neuroblastomas, and neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS, and Huntington’s Chorea. These toxins may serve as templates for the rational design of therapeutic agents to treat Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. Others toxins in which I am interested may shed light on the mechanism of balance disorders.



Publications

  1. 46.   Pegram, S. A. and S. D. Aird.  2008.  Isolation and N-terminal sequence of phosphodiesterase from venom

  2. of the western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma).  (manuscript in preparation).

45.    Clark, M. H., Jr., T. D. Matos, B. J. Neva, K. T. Chu, and S. D. Aird.  2008. Isolation and characterization

  1. of Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV from Ophiophagus hannah venom. (manuscript in preparation).

44.    Aird, S. D.  2008.  Frugivory and herbivory in common snapping turtles (Family Chelydridae: Chelydra

  1. serpentina). (submitted for publication).

  2. 43.  Aird, S. D.  2008.  Snake venom purines and pyrimidines.  Invited review article.  Reptile Venoms and

  3.   Toxins.  Mackessy, S. P., Ed. (accepted for publication).

  4. 42.  Aird, S. D. 2008.  Nucleoside Composition of Heloderma Venoms.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B Biochem.

  5.   Mol. Biol. 150, 183-186.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb.2008.02.012

  6. 41.  Aird, S. D.  2008. Snake Venom Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV:  Taxonomic Distribution and Quantitative

  7.   Variation.  Comp Biochem. Physiol. B Biochem. Mol. Biol. 150, 222-8.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb. 2008.03.005

40.  Soper, A. S. and S. D. Aird.  2007.  Elution of tightly bound solutes from Concanavalin A Sepharose:  Factors affecting the desorption of cottonmouth venom glycoproteins.  J. Chromatog. A 1154, 308-318 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2007.03.126.

39.  Higuchi, S., N. Murayama, K. Saguchi, H. Ohi, Y. Fujita, N. Jorge da Silva, Jr., and S. D. Aird.  2006.  A Novel peptide from the ACEI/BPP-CNP precursor in the venom of Crotalus durissus collilineatus.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 144C, 107-121.  PDF

38. Aird, S. D.  2005.  Taxonomic distribution and quantitative analysis of free purine and pyrimidine nucleosides in snake venoms.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 140, 109-126.  PDF

37. Aird, S. D.  2004.  Chromatographic behavior of Bothrops erythromelas phospholipase and other venom constituents on Superdex 75.  Prep. Biochem. Biotech. 34, 345-364.  PDF

36.  Aird, S. D.  2002.  Review Article.  Ophidian envenomation strategies and the role of purines.  Toxicon 40, 335-393.  PDF

35.  Sigel, R., M. Hackett and S. D. Aird.  2002.  Primary structure of four dendrotoxin E homologs from the venom of Dendroaspis angusticeps.  Toxicon. 40, 297-308.  PDF

34. Jorge da Silva, N. and S. D. Aird.  2001.  Prey Specificity, Comparative Lethality and Compositional Differences of Brazilian Micrurus Venoms.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 128C: 425-456.  PDF

33.  Aird, S. D., G. C. Womble, J. R. Yates, III, and P. R. Griffin.  1999.  Primary Structure of γ-bungarotoxin, a New Postsynaptic Neurotoxin from Venom of Bungarus multicinctus.  Toxicon 37: 609-625.  PDF

32.  Spencer, P. J.,  S. D. Aird, N. Nascimento, M. Boni-Mitake, and J.R. Rogero.  1998.  Single step purification of bothropstoxin-1.  Brazilian J. Med. Biol. Res. 31: 1125-1127.

31.  Griffin, P. R., S. D. Aird, W. G. Kruggel, S. Hudiburg, D. A. Swann, J. Shabanowitz, D. F. Hunt, G. V. Odell, and I. I. Kaiser.  1994.  Primary structures of two toxins from the venom of the Mexican red knee tarantula (Brachypelma smithii).  Toxicon 32: 1083-1093.

30.    Aird, S. D.  1992.  Reptile Venoms and Toxins.  (Invited Book Review)  Pharmaceutical Res. 9, 1231.

29.  Pinto, R. N. L., N. Jorge da Silva and S. D. Aird.  1991.  Human envenomation by the South American opisthoglyph Clelia clelia plumbea (Wied) and a preliminary fractionation of its venom.  Toxicon 29: 1512-1516.

28.  Jorge da Silva, N., P. R. Griffin, and S. D. Aird.  1991.  Comparative chromatography of Brazilian coral snake (Micrurus) venoms.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 100B: 117-126.

27.  Aird, S. D. and N. Jorge da Silva.  1991.  Comparative enzymatic composition of coral snake (Micrurus) venoms.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 99B: 287-294.

26.   Aird, S. D., W. G. Kruggel, and I. I. Kaiser.  1991.  Multiple myotoxins from the venom of a single prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus v. viridis).  Toxicon. 29: 265-268.

25.   Aird, S. D. and M. E. Aird.  1990.  Behavior for trapping rain water in Crotalus viridis lutosus.  Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 25: 217.

24.   Griffin, P. R. and S. D. Aird.  1990.  A new small myotoxin from the venom of the prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis).  FEBS Lett. 274: 43-47.

23.    Aird, S. D., J. Yates, D. Hunt, and I. I. Kaiser.  1990.  Complete amino acid sequence of the acidic subunit of crotoxin.  Archs. Biochem. Biophys. 1040: 217-224.

22.   Aird, S. D., W. G. Kruggel, and I. I. Kaiser.  1990.  Amino acid sequence of the basic subunit of Mojave toxin from the venom of the Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus s. scutulatus).  Toxicon 28: 669-673.

21.  Kaiser, I. I., D. Plummer, S. D. Aird, and G. V. Odell.  1990.  The amino acid sequence of a myotoxic phospholipase from the venom of Bothrops asper.  Archs Biochem. Biophys. 278: 319-325.

20.  Aird, S. D.  1990.  Call for an IST Nomenclatural Committee.  (Invited Letter to the Editor) Toxicon 28: 136-137.

19.   Aird, S. D., B. L. Steadman, I. I. Kaiser, and C. R. Middaugh.  1989.  Comparative spectroscopic studies of four crotoxin homologs and their subunits.  Biochim. Biophys. Acta 997: 211-218.

18.  Aird, S. D., C. R. Middaugh, and I. I. Kaiser.  1989.  Secondary structure of textilotoxin, a heteropentameric phospholipase from the venom of Pseudonaja t. textilis, and its subunits.  Biochim. Biophys. Acta 997: 219-223.

17.   Jorge da Silva, N., S. D. Aird, C. S. Seebart, and I. I. Kaiser.  1989.  A gyroxin analog from the venom of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta muta).  Toxicon 27: 763-771.

16.  Aird, S. D., C. S. Seebart, L. Thirkhill, and I. I. Kaiser.  1989.  Venoms and morphology of Western Diamondback/Mojave Rattlesnake Hybrids. Journal of Herpetology 23: 131-141.

15.  Odell, G. V., S. Hudiburg, S. D. Aird, and I. I. Kaiser 1988.  Spider venom toxins. In: Neurotoxins in Neurochemistry,  Chap. 15, pp. 193-204, J. O. Dolly, Ed., Ellis Horwood Series in Biotechnology, A. Wiseman, Series Ed., Halstead Press, Chichester England.

14.  Aird, S. D., C. S. Seebart and I. I. Kaiser.  1988.  Preliminary fractionation and characterization of the venom of the Great Basin rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis lutosus).  Herpetologica 44: 71-85.

13.  Ownby, C. L., S. D. Aird, and I. I. Kaiser.  1987.  Physiological and immunological properties of small myotoxins from the venom of the midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis concolor).  Toxicon 26: 319-323.

12.  Kaiser, I. I., and S. D. Aird.  1987.  A crotoxin homolog from the venom of the Uracoan rattlesnake (Crotalus vegrandis).  Toxicon  25: 1113-1120.

11.   Aird, S. D. 1986.  Methoxyflurane anesthesia in Crotalus:  Comparisons with other gas anesthetics.  Herp. Review 17: 82-84.

10.   Aird, S. D., I. I. Kaiser, R. V. Lewis, and W. G. Kruggel.  1986.  A complete amino acid sequence for the basic subunit of crotoxin.  Archs Biochem. Biophys. 249: 296-300.

9.    Aird, S. D., I. I. Kaiser, R. V. Lewis, and W. G. Kruggel 1985.  Rattlesnake presynaptic neurotoxins: Primary structure and evolutionary origin of the acidic subunit.  Biochemistry 24: 7054- 7058. (Accelerated Publication)

8.  Aird, S. D.  1985.  A statistical assessment of variation in venom constituents within and between three rattlesnake subspecies.  Toxicon 23: 1000-1004.

7.    Aird, S. D. and I. I. Kaiser  1985.  Comparative studies on three rattlesnake toxins.  Toxicon 23(3): 361-374.

6.   Aird, S. D., I. I. Kaiser and A. L. Bieber.  1985.  Nomenclature of biological toxins.  Toxicon 23: 179-182.

5.    Aird, S. D. and I. I. Kaiser  1985.  Toxicity assays.  Toxicon 23: 11-13.

4.    Aird, S. D.  1984.  Crotalus viridis viridis (Prairie Rattlesnake) Coloration.  Herp. Review 15: 18-19.

3.   Haynes, C. M. and S. D. Aird.  1981.  The distribution and habitat requirements of the wood frog (Ranidae: Rana sylvatica  Le Conte) in Colorado.  Colorado Division of Wildlife Special Report #50., 29 pp.

2.    Frost, D. and S. D. Aird.  1978.  Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus.  Herp. Review 9: 62.

1.    Frost, D. and S. D. Aird.  1978.  Micrurus laticollaris.  Herp. Review 9: 62.


Honors and Awards

• 2005    NIH Research and Infrastructure at Minority Institutions (RIMI) Grant, NSU Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, $3.6 million, Joseph C. Hall, P. D., Steven D. Aird, Tabmitha Y. Jervey, and Kenneth W. Hicks.  The budget for my subproject was $504,151.

• 2005    NSF Research Opportunity Award, MCB-0523042 ($25,676), entitled, “cDNA Structure of Phosphodiesterase from Venom of the Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon p. piscivorus).” Awarded to R. V. Lewis, P.I., J. D. Johnson, Coinvestigator, and S. D. Aird, Coinvestigator, but written by S. D. Aird.

• 2002    Dominion Virginia Power Initiative ($25,000)

• 2000    FUNCAP (Fundação Cearense de Amparo de Pesquisa) Research Grant (R$10,000)

Dr. Steven D. Aird

1983-1988   University of Wyoming Postdoctoral Research

                    (Biochemistry)

1976-1984   Colorado State University Ph.D. (Zoology)

1974-1976   Northern Arizona University M.S. (Biology)

1970-1974   Montana State University B.S. (Zoology)

I switched fields at the postdoctoral level, and as a result, my teaching and research span several areas of biology and chemistry. Originally trained as a field biologist, I anticipated doing my M.S. and Ph.D. research in boreal or tundra ecology; however, after crawling into the mouth of a prairie rattlesnake den northwest of Bozeman, Montana, I became enthralled with rattlesnakes, an interest from which I never fully recovered. An offer from Northern Arizona University to do my M.S. in herpetology proved irresistible and there I collected and studied various species of rattlesnakes. While watching my captives feed, I became convinced that their venom chemistry must be at least as divergent as their external morphologies. I drove more than 400 miles round trip to the University of Arizona in order to photocopy several hundred pages of articles from the journal, Toxicon. I followed the venom chemistry literature doggedly for nine years, incorporated a venom chemistry element into my Ph.D. research, and on several occasions inadvertently incorporated venom into my fingers as well. I was finally able to begin formal research in venom chemistry during my postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Wyoming in December, 2003. I have worked on the chemistry of animal venoms ever since.

Steve prepares to extract venom from a canebrake rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus atricaudatus).

A PDF copy of my CV (resume) can be downloaded here.

Seminars and Presentations   

  1. •2007    The Function of Purines in Snake Envenomation, Department of Biology, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 26 October, 2007.

  2. •2005    The Role of Purines in Snake Envenomation Strategies, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 28 July, 2005.

  3. •2005    Qualitative and Quantitative Study of Snake Venom Purines, Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Sojo University, Kumamoto City, Japan, 23 May, 2005.

  4. •2004    Snake venom purines, Invited Seminar, Department of Chemistry, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, 19 May, 2004.

  5. •2003  The Role of Purines in Ophidian Envenomation, Invited Seminar, Department of Biology, Old Dominion University, 06 November, 2003.

  6. •2003  The Role of Purines in Ophidian Envenomation, Invited Seminar, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan, 19 May, 2003.

  7. •2001    Ophidian envenomation strategies and the role of purines.  Plenary Lecture.  7th Symposium, Pan-American Section, International Society on Toxinology, Charlottesville, VA, 4-8 August, 2001.

  8. •1999    γ-bungarotoxina:  Uma nova classe de neurotoxina pós-sináptica., Research Seminar, Mestrado em Ciências Fisiológicas, UECE.

  9. •1998    A Novel Postsynaptic Neurotoxin from the Venom of Bungarus multicinctus, Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, Recife, PE, Brasil

  10. •1996    Chemistry of Animal Venoms and Purification of Natural Toxins, Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brasil

  11. •1992    Rattlesnakes of Utah, Utah Association of Herpetologists, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

  12. •1991    Chemistry of Snake Venoms, Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT

  13. •1991    Biochemistry of Snake Venoms, Department of Biology, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

  14. •1990 Crotalid Presynaptic Neurotoxins and Structure-Function Relationships of Snake Venom Phospholipases, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

  15. •1990  Snake Venom Chemistry:  Compositional Diversity and Medical Applications of Snake Venom Proteins, Sterling Research Group, Malvern, PA

  16. •1989   Snake Venoms and Their Potential to Yield Valuable Natural Products., Natural Product Sciences, Inc.

  17. •1988    A Historical Perspective on Structure-Function Studies of Crotalid Presynaptic Neurotoxins, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brasil

  18. •1988  The Use of Liquid Chromatography in Protein Purification as Illustrated by Studies on Crotoxin, Hospital de Doenças Tropicais, Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil

  19. •1987  Technical Writing on the Macintosh Computer using the Word Processing Program "WriteNow,"  University of Wyoming, Department of Molecular Biology

  20. •1985    Crotalid Presynaptic Neurotoxins: Structure Function and Phylogenetic Distribution, Brigham Young University, Department of Chemistry, Provo, UT

  21. •1985   Climatological Factors and the Morphological Differentiation of the Western Rattlesnake in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, University of Wyoming Chapter of Sigma Xi, Laramie, WY

  22. •1985    Morphological and Biochemical Differentiation of the Western Rattlesnake, University of Wyoming, Department of Zoology, Laramie, WY

  23. •1984  Morphological and Biochemical Differentiation of the Western Rattlesnake, Colorado State University, Department of Zoology, Fort Collins, CO