Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes.
Background Snakebite envenomation exerts a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa. The design and production of effective polyspecific antivenoms for this region demand a better understanding of the immunological characteristics of the different venoms from the most medically important snakes, to select t...
Published in: | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4dc105f908ad49fdbce7a116379c1dd2 2023-05-15T15:14:36+02:00 Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. Aarón Gómez Andrés Sánchez Gina Durán Daniel Cordero Álvaro Segura Mariángela Vargas Daniela Solano María Herrera Stephanie Chaves-Araya Mauren Villalta Melvin Sánchez Mauricio Arguedas Cecilia Díaz José María Gutiérrez Guillermo León 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/article/4dc105f908ad49fdbce7a116379c1dd2 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/article/4dc105f908ad49fdbce7a116379c1dd2 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0010643 (2022) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 2022-12-30T22:13:47Z Background Snakebite envenomation exerts a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa. The design and production of effective polyspecific antivenoms for this region demand a better understanding of the immunological characteristics of the different venoms from the most medically important snakes, to select the most appropriate venom combinations for generating antivenoms of wide neutralizing scope. Bitis spp. and Echis spp. represent the most important viperid snake genera in Africa. Methodology/principal findings Eight rabbit-derived monospecific antisera were raised against the venoms of four species of Bitis spp. and four species of Echis spp. The effects of immunization in the rabbits were assessed, as well as the development of antibody titers, as judged by immunochemical assays and neutralization of lethal, hemorrhagic, and in vitro coagulant effects. At the end of immunizations, local and pulmonary hemorrhage, together with slight increments in the plasma activity of creatine kinase (CK), were observed owing to the action of hemorrhagic and myotoxic venom components. Immunologic analyses revealed a considerable extent of cross-reactivity of monospecific antisera against heterologous venoms within each genus, although some antisera provided a more extensive cross-reactivity than others. The venoms that generated antisera with the broadest coverage were those of Bitis gabonica and B. rhinoceros within Bitis spp. and Echis leucogaster within Echis spp. Conclusions/significance The methodology followed in this study provides a rational basis for the selection of the best combination of venoms for generating antivenoms of high cross-reactivity against viperid venoms in sub-Saharan Africa. Results suggest that the venoms of B. gabonica, B. rhinoceros, and E. leucogaster generate antisera with the broadest cross-reactivity within their genera. These experimental results in rabbits need to be translated to large animals used in antivenom production to assess whether these predictions are reproduced in horses or sheep. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16 8 e0010643 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Aarón Gómez Andrés Sánchez Gina Durán Daniel Cordero Álvaro Segura Mariángela Vargas Daniela Solano María Herrera Stephanie Chaves-Araya Mauren Villalta Melvin Sánchez Mauricio Arguedas Cecilia Díaz José María Gutiérrez Guillermo León Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Snakebite envenomation exerts a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa. The design and production of effective polyspecific antivenoms for this region demand a better understanding of the immunological characteristics of the different venoms from the most medically important snakes, to select the most appropriate venom combinations for generating antivenoms of wide neutralizing scope. Bitis spp. and Echis spp. represent the most important viperid snake genera in Africa. Methodology/principal findings Eight rabbit-derived monospecific antisera were raised against the venoms of four species of Bitis spp. and four species of Echis spp. The effects of immunization in the rabbits were assessed, as well as the development of antibody titers, as judged by immunochemical assays and neutralization of lethal, hemorrhagic, and in vitro coagulant effects. At the end of immunizations, local and pulmonary hemorrhage, together with slight increments in the plasma activity of creatine kinase (CK), were observed owing to the action of hemorrhagic and myotoxic venom components. Immunologic analyses revealed a considerable extent of cross-reactivity of monospecific antisera against heterologous venoms within each genus, although some antisera provided a more extensive cross-reactivity than others. The venoms that generated antisera with the broadest coverage were those of Bitis gabonica and B. rhinoceros within Bitis spp. and Echis leucogaster within Echis spp. Conclusions/significance The methodology followed in this study provides a rational basis for the selection of the best combination of venoms for generating antivenoms of high cross-reactivity against viperid venoms in sub-Saharan Africa. Results suggest that the venoms of B. gabonica, B. rhinoceros, and E. leucogaster generate antisera with the broadest cross-reactivity within their genera. These experimental results in rabbits need to be translated to large animals used in antivenom production to assess whether these predictions are reproduced in horses or sheep. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aarón Gómez Andrés Sánchez Gina Durán Daniel Cordero Álvaro Segura Mariángela Vargas Daniela Solano María Herrera Stephanie Chaves-Araya Mauren Villalta Melvin Sánchez Mauricio Arguedas Cecilia Díaz José María Gutiérrez Guillermo León |
author_facet |
Aarón Gómez Andrés Sánchez Gina Durán Daniel Cordero Álvaro Segura Mariángela Vargas Daniela Solano María Herrera Stephanie Chaves-Araya Mauren Villalta Melvin Sánchez Mauricio Arguedas Cecilia Díaz José María Gutiérrez Guillermo León |
author_sort |
Aarón Gómez |
title |
Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
title_short |
Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
title_full |
Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
title_fullStr |
Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important Bitis spp. and Echis spp. African snakes. |
title_sort |
intrageneric cross-reactivity of monospecific rabbit antisera against venoms of the medically most important bitis spp. and echis spp. african snakes. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/article/4dc105f908ad49fdbce7a116379c1dd2 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0010643 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 https://doaj.org/article/4dc105f908ad49fdbce7a116379c1dd2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010643 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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16 |
container_issue |
8 |
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e0010643 |
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