Humoral immune responses to venom and antivenom of patients bitten by Bothrops snakes

Snake envenomation and its treatment cause the entry of two kind of foreign antigens into the human body: snake toxins and antivenom from animal origin. Samples of patients bitten by snakes in Uruguay were assayed to determine levels of human antibodies against venom and antivenom. The ELISA results...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxicon (Oxford) 2012-02, Vol.59 (2), p.315-319
Main Authors: Morais, Víctor, Berasain, Patricia, Ifrán, Silvana, Carreira, Santiago, Tortorella, María Noel, Negrín, Alba, Massaldi, Hugo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Animal poisons toxicology. Antivenoms
Animals
Antibodies
Antivenins - immunology
Antivenins - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Blotting, Western
Bothropoides
Bothrops
Child
Female
Humans
Immunity, Humoral
Immunoglobulin
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Immunoglobulin M - blood
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Rhinocerophis
Snake bite
Snake Bites - drug therapy
Snake Bites - immunology
Snake Venoms - immunology
Toxicology
Uruguay
Young Adult
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Summary:Snake envenomation and its treatment cause the entry of two kind of foreign antigens into the human body: snake toxins and antivenom from animal origin. Samples of patients bitten by snakes in Uruguay were assayed to determine levels of human antibodies against venom and antivenom. The ELISA results showed that most of the patients presented an important increase of IgG and IgM antibodies against antivenom at day 15 post accident. Antibodies were reactive against both equine immunoglobulin chains by western blot assay. In the case of the response against the venom, increase in titre at day 15 was of a minor degree as compared with the antivenom by ELISA. Only one of the patients showed an important increase of IgG and IgM levels against Bothropoides pubescens and only of IgG level against Rhinocerophis alternatus. This patient also showed an extensive reactivity against B. pubescens by western blot. ► We determined humoral responses to venom and antivenom of patients bitten by snakes. ► Most of the patients showed increments of both IgG and IgM levels against antivenom. ► Increments at day 15 ranged from 4 to more than 100 fold the initial level at day 0. ► The responses against venom were in general of a minor degree than against antivenom. ► The response seems to be against almost all the components involved.
ISSN:0041-0101
1879-3150
DOI:10.1016/j.toxicon.2011.12.006