Humoral immune response of patients bitten by the snake Bothrops erythromelas

Abstract

Introduction: Snake envenomings are a health problem in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries, but little is known regarding the immune response presented by bitten individuals. The IgM production of patients bitten by Bothrops erythromelas snake was analyzed to identify the effectiveness of treatment in this type of envenomation. Methods: Bothrops erythromelas venom was submitted to electrophoresis and transferred to a nitrocellulose sheet, following incubation with patients' sera. Results: A 38 KDa protein was detected before and 24 h after therapy. Conclusions: The result suggests that this protein could be used as a marker for individuals envenomed by Bothrops. erythromelas.

Clinical and immunological aspects of envenomations by Bothrops snakes

“…Results showed that B. erythromelas and C. d. cascavella venoms induced a marked immunomodulatory response, in vitro, through cytokines and NO production. However, B. erythromelas induced pro-inflammatory response and a higher rate of cell death in relation to C. d. cascavella venom (62).…”

“…Luna et al (62) observed that both B. erythromelas and C. d. cascavella (from northeastern Brazil) venoms induced increased production of IFN-γ and IL-6 in mouse splenocytes. Nitric oxide was produced in significant amounts only by B. erythromelas venom, which also showed a higher rate of cell death induction when compared to C. d. cascavella.…”

“…Luna et al (62), who analyzed the humoral immune response presented by individuals bitten by the snake Bothrops erythromelas, showed a marked 31 kDa protein that was not neutralized by the commercial antivenom used in Brazil. Such finding shows that some venom components are not well neutralized when the venom is not part of the pool of venoms used to generate the antivenom (62).…”

Prospecção de Moléculas Bioativas em Animais e Plantas: Uma Visão Biotecnológica

“…Ao se realizar a eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida com SDS observou-se bandas proteicas que reafirmaram o que foi observado nos experimentos realizados por Luna et al (2010), com os quais observou-se um padrão de bandas com peso molecular entre 29 e 31 KDa que não sofrem neutralização mesmo após o tratamento soroterápico dos pacientes envenenados.…”

An overview of Bothrops erythromelas venom

“…Another research in this area was conducted by Luna et al (38) , who collected blood samples from patients bitten by B. erythromelas before and after the patients were administered an antivenom. Humoral response [immunoglobulin M (IgM) production] was analyzed to ascertain the effectiveness of the treatment.…”