Vasoconstrictor effect of Africanized honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) venom on rat aorta

Sousa, Paulo César Pereira de; Brito, Teresinha Silva de; Freire, Daniel Soares; Ximenes, Rafael Matos; Magalhães, Pedro Jorge Caldas; Monteiro, Helena Serra Azul; Alves, Renata; Martins, Alice Maria Costa; Toyama, Daniela O.; Toyama, Marcos Hikari

doi:10.1186/1678-9199-19-24

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Nevertheless, the PLA 2 from A. americanum was not inhibited by aristolochic acid [ 73 ] as previously reported for the PLA 2 from the venomous snake, Vipera ammodytes meridionalis [ 138 ]. Sousa and colleagues [ 139 ] demonstrated the complexity of the toxic effects induced by venomous molecules since the PLA 2 -melitin complex in Apis mellifera venom acted as a vasoconstrictor on rat aorta; however, no effect was evidenced for the PLA 2 and melitin fractions individually. New methods for testing the molecular functions of tick molecules may contribute to unravel the intricate putative toxic effects of tick salivary PLA 2 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are ticks venomous animals?

Cabezas-Cruz

Valdés

2014

Front Zool

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionAs an ecological adaptation venoms have evolved independently in several species of Metazoa. As haematophagous arthropods ticks are mainly considered as ectoparasites due to directly feeding on the skin of animal hosts. Ticks are of major importance since they serve as vectors for several diseases affecting humans and livestock animals. Ticks are rarely considered as venomous animals despite that tick saliva contains several protein families present in venomous taxa and that many Ixodida genera can induce paralysis and other types of toxicoses. Tick saliva was previously proposed as a special kind of venom since tick venom is used for blood feeding that counteracts host defense mechanisms. As a result, the present study provides evidence to reconsider the venomous properties of tick saliva.ResultsBased on our extensive literature mining and in silico research, we demonstrate that ticks share several similarities with other venomous taxa. Many tick salivary protein families and their previously described functions are homologous to proteins found in scorpion, spider, snake, platypus and bee venoms. This infers that there is a structural and functional convergence between several molecular components in tick saliva and the venoms from other recognized venomous taxa. We also highlight the fact that the immune response against tick saliva and venoms (from recognized venomous taxa) are both dominated by an allergic immunity background. Furthermore, by comparing the major molecular components of human saliva, as an example of a non-venomous animal, with that of ticks we find evidence that ticks resemble more venomous than non-venomous animals. Finally, we introduce our considerations regarding the evolution of venoms in Arachnida.ConclusionsTaking into account the composition of tick saliva, the venomous functions that ticks have while interacting with their hosts, and the distinguishable differences between human (non-venomous) and tick salivary proteins, we consider that ticks should be referred to as venomous ectoparasites.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are ticks venomous animals?

Cabezas-Cruz

Valdés

2014

Front Zool

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Male Swiss mice (20-30 g) were maintained under standard conditions of temperature and humidity with standard 12 hr light/dark cycles. Food and water were provided ad libitum, according with described by Sousa et al (2013). All experiments were in accordance with the guidelines for the ethical use of experimental animals published by the Brazilian College on Experimental Animal Care (COBEA), with a project license approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Federal University of Ceará (protocol number 68/2008).…”

Section: Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edematogenic and myotoxic activities induced by snake venom of <i>Philodryas nattereri</i> from the Northeast of Brazil

Nery

Aquino

Ribeiro

et al. 2014

Fundam. Toxicol. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Philodryas nattereri is distributed in arid and semiarid regions of South America and is most common in northeastern Brazil. The aims of the work were to investigate the edematogenic and myotoxic effects promoted by P. nattereri venom. In this work, mice weighing 20-30 g (n = 4 for each experimental group) were used. For the edematogenic activity mice were injected in the subplantar region of the right foot pad with 50 μL of solutions containing different amounts of venom (3 and 10 μg) measured by plethysmometry at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hr and pretreated with indomethacin, dexamethasone and antibothropic serum, whereas the left foot pad was injected with 50 μL of NaCl 0.15 M. Two hours after injection mice were killed by cervical dislocation and both feet were cut off and weighed individually. For the myotoxic activity mice were injected i.m. with 100 mL of solutions containing 50 μg of venom. Blood samples were extracted after 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 hr of venom injection to determinate serum CK activity and mice were sacrificed at the same time intervals to obtain the inoculated gastrocnemius muscle. They were fixed with formalin solution and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin. Results showed that P. nattereri venom exhibits a high edematogenic and myotoxic activities. Myonecrosis reached its highest level after 2 hr of venom injection as shown by plasmatic CK levels (364 ± 92 U/L) and microscopic assay. It demonstrates the potential toxicity of the venom of P. nattereri, who inhabits the North-East region of Brazil.

show abstract

“…As PLA2 foram recrutadas para a glândula de veneno de serpentes por duplicações gênicas e mutações aceleradas fazendo com que tenham função tóxica e muitas até percam a sua função enzimática original (Ohno et al, 1998). Elas também são descritas em venenos de outros animais, como as abelhas (Palm et al, 2013;Sousa et al, 2013). A grande diversidade de PLA2 é refletida na diversidade de funções como, por exemplo, neurotoxicidade, miotoxicidade, cardiotoxicidade, atividade hemolítica, hemorrágica, hipotensiva, entre outras (Kini, 2003 (Aquilina, 2008).…”

Section: -Fosfolipases A2unclassified

Análise combinada do transcriptoma de glândula de veneno e do proteoma do veneno da espécie Pseudonaja textilis (Elapidae : Serpentes)

Viala¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vasoconstrictor effect of Africanized honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) venom on rat aorta

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Are ticks venomous animals?

Are ticks venomous animals?

Edematogenic and myotoxic activities induced by snake venom of <i>Philodryas nattereri</i> from the Northeast of Brazil

Análise combinada do transcriptoma de glândula de veneno e do proteoma do veneno da espécie Pseudonaja textilis (Elapidae : Serpentes)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About