In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom
This study investigated the in vitro toxic effects of Bitis arietans venom and the ability of antivenom produced by the South African Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR) to neutralize these effects. The venom (50 µg/mL) reduced nerve-mediated twitches of the chick biventer muscle to 19% ± 2% of in...
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MDPI AG
2014-05-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/6/5/1586 |
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| author | Steven Fernandez Wayne Hodgson Janeyuth Chaisakul Rachelle Kornhauser Nicki Konstantakopoulos Alexander Ian Smith Sanjaya Kuruppu |
| author_facet | Steven Fernandez Wayne Hodgson Janeyuth Chaisakul Rachelle Kornhauser Nicki Konstantakopoulos Alexander Ian Smith Sanjaya Kuruppu |
| author_sort | Steven Fernandez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigated the in vitro toxic effects of Bitis arietans venom and the ability of antivenom produced by the South African Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR) to neutralize these effects. The venom (50 µg/mL) reduced nerve-mediated twitches of the chick biventer muscle to 19% ± 2% of initial magnitude (n = 4) within 2 h. This inhibitory effect of the venom was significantly attenuated by prior incubation of tissues with SAIMR antivenom (0.864 µg/µL; 67% ± 4%; P < 0.05; n = 3–5, unpaired t-test). Addition of antivenom at t50 failed to prevent further inhibition or reverse the inhibition of twitches and responses to agonists. The myotoxic action of the venom (50 µg/mL) was evidenced by a decrease in direct twitches (30% ± 6% of the initial twitch magnitude) and increase in baseline tension (by 0.7 ± 0.3 g within 3 h) of the chick biventer. Antivenom failed to block these effects. Antivenom however prevented the venom induced cytotoxic effects on L6 skeletal muscle cells. Venom induced a marginal but significant reduction in plasma clotting times at concentrations above 7.8 µg/100 µL of plasma, indicating poor procoagulant effects. In addition, the results of western immunoblotting indicate strong immunoreactivity with venom proteins, thus warranting further detailed studies on the neutralization of the effects of individual venom toxins by antivenom. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:49:40Z |
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| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:49:40Z |
| publishDate | 2014-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-3df292f7e51e42b89c8269fe44da93392022-12-22T03:58:37ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512014-05-01651586159710.3390/toxins6051586toxins6051586In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by AntivenomSteven Fernandez0Wayne Hodgson1Janeyuth Chaisakul2Rachelle Kornhauser3Nicki Konstantakopoulos4Alexander Ian Smith5Sanjaya Kuruppu6Department of Pharmacology, Monash University, Building 13E, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Pharmacology, Monash University, Building 13E, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Pharmacology, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Bangkok 10400, ThailandDepartment of Pharmacology, Monash University, Building 13E, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Pharmacology, Monash University, Building 13E, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Monash University, Building 77, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaDepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Monash University, Building 77, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic 3800, AustraliaThis study investigated the in vitro toxic effects of Bitis arietans venom and the ability of antivenom produced by the South African Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR) to neutralize these effects. The venom (50 µg/mL) reduced nerve-mediated twitches of the chick biventer muscle to 19% ± 2% of initial magnitude (n = 4) within 2 h. This inhibitory effect of the venom was significantly attenuated by prior incubation of tissues with SAIMR antivenom (0.864 µg/µL; 67% ± 4%; P < 0.05; n = 3–5, unpaired t-test). Addition of antivenom at t50 failed to prevent further inhibition or reverse the inhibition of twitches and responses to agonists. The myotoxic action of the venom (50 µg/mL) was evidenced by a decrease in direct twitches (30% ± 6% of the initial twitch magnitude) and increase in baseline tension (by 0.7 ± 0.3 g within 3 h) of the chick biventer. Antivenom failed to block these effects. Antivenom however prevented the venom induced cytotoxic effects on L6 skeletal muscle cells. Venom induced a marginal but significant reduction in plasma clotting times at concentrations above 7.8 µg/100 µL of plasma, indicating poor procoagulant effects. In addition, the results of western immunoblotting indicate strong immunoreactivity with venom proteins, thus warranting further detailed studies on the neutralization of the effects of individual venom toxins by antivenom.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/6/5/1586antivenomBitis arietansneurotoxicitymyotoxicitycytotoxicityprocoagulant |
| spellingShingle | Steven Fernandez Wayne Hodgson Janeyuth Chaisakul Rachelle Kornhauser Nicki Konstantakopoulos Alexander Ian Smith Sanjaya Kuruppu In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom Toxins antivenom Bitis arietans neurotoxicity myotoxicity cytotoxicity procoagulant |
| title | In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom |
| title_full | In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom |
| title_fullStr | In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom |
| title_full_unstemmed | In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom |
| title_short | In Vitro Toxic Effects of Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) Venom, and Their Neutralization by Antivenom |
| title_sort | in vitro toxic effects of puff adder bitis arietans venom and their neutralization by antivenom |
| topic | antivenom Bitis arietans neurotoxicity myotoxicity cytotoxicity procoagulant |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/6/5/1586 |
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