Light and Transmission Electron Microscopical Changes Associated with Leiurus Quinqestriatus Venom in Rabbits

Abstract

Original Scientific ArticleMac Vet Rev 2016; 39 (1): [51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Thirty California female rabbits were obtained from the Animal Care Center, College of Agriculture, South Valley University and acclimated to laboratory conditions for one week. The Leiurus quinquestriatus (LQ) venom was collected from mature scorpions by electrical stimulation of the telson. A single dose of crude venom of 0.4 ml/kg (diluted in normal saline with a ratio of 1:1) was injected into a peripheral ear vein. The lungs, brains, hearts, kidneys, were sampled and fixed in 10% formalin from rabbits sacrificed at zero, 30 minutes, 1hr, and 4hrs, post-envenomation (three animals at each sacrifice). Respiratory distress and neurological manifestations were the main clinical signs. Congestion of the lungs was started at one hour postenvenomation. Vascular changes including hyperemia and hemorrhage were also observed till 24 hours post-envenomation. The main histopathological changes of the lungs were edema, hemorrhage, emphysema, and eosinophilic bronchitis. Transmission electron microscopy revealed several eosinophils with abundant granules and breakdown of their membranes suggesting degranulation. The cerebrum showed malacia and edema. Myocardial damage expressed by focal area of myolysis at half-hour post-envenomation and interstitial edema by at 1, and 4 hour post-envenomation was also evident. In conclusion, scorpion venom induced consistent and relevant histopathological changes in all examined organs.

Determination of median effective dose (ED50) of scorpion antivenom against scorpion envenomation using a newly developed formula

“…Envenomation by L. abdullahbayrami causes hyperexcitability, agitation, aggressive behavior, squeaking, fighting, tachypnea, weakness, convulsion, and death due to cardiac and respiratory failure in mice . Envenomation by L. quinquestriatus produced degranulation of eosinophils, fever, oedema of cerebrum and myocarditis in rabbit . The reports confirm the medical importance of members of the Buthidae family.…”

“…A random search of the literature, including journals, textbooks, books of abstracts, conference proceedings, and other periodicals, was conducted to establish the species of poisonous scorpions, their venoms, antivenoms, median lethal doses (LD 50 ), median effective doses (ED 50 ), their immunogenic reactions and the formulas used for calculation of both LD 50 and ED 50 . The following four formulas were extracted.…”

A Comparative Pathomorphological Findings Between Leiurus abdullahbayrami and Androctonus crassicauda (Scorpion: Buthidae) Envenomation in Rabbit Animal Model

“…On the other hand, the main affected organs included the lungs, liver, intestine, and pancreas, respectively (22–26). However, some important findings in the kidneys and the central nervous systems were also evident in our study, which was less likely to be mentioned in prior documents except for the most recent document (27). The inflammation might be a long-term effect from the two types of venom.…”

“…Particularly, another reason for multiple organ disfailure was the hydropic-vacuolar degeneration in parenchymatous organs. It has been previously associated with the loss of function of the Na-K ATPase pump (15, 27, 41, 42). This situation could be further clarified by examining several fractions of these venoms that target one or more vital cells such as those from the liver, kidneys and also the cerebellum rather than simply focusing on the most prominent vital organs of the heart and the lungs.…”

“…The highest venom concentrations can be found in the kidneys, liver, heart, and lungs following a venom injection (20–22). In envenomations from different scorpion species, the lungs, heart, liver, intestines, and pancreas were documented as the most affected organs in addition to the recently described effects on the brain following a Leiurus envenomation (23–27).…”