title: IgY antibodies anti-Tityus caripitensis venom: purification and neutralization efficacy.
abstract: Tityus caripitensis is responsible for most of scorpion stings related to human incidents in Northeastern Venezuela. The only treatment for scorpion envenomation is immunotherapy based on administration of scorpion anti-venom produced in horses. Avian antibodies (IgY) isolated from chicken egg yolks represent a new alternative to be applied as anti-venom therapy. For this reason, we produced IgY antibodies against T. caripitensis scorpion venom and evaluated its neutralizing capacity. The anti-scorpion venom antibodies were purified by precipitation techniques with polyethylene glycol and evaluated by Multiple Antigen Blot Assay (MABA), an indirect ELISA, and Western blot assays. The lethality neutralization was evaluated by preincubating the venom together with the anti-venom prior to testing. The IgY immunoreactivity was demonstrated by a dose-dependent inhibition in Western blot assays where antibodies pre-absorbed with the venom did not recognize the venom proteins from T. caripitensis. The anti-venom was effective in neutralizing 2LD50 doses of T. caripitensis venom (97.8 mg of IgY neutralized 1 mg of T. caripitensis venom). Our results support the future use of avian anti-scorpion venom as an alternative to conventional equine anti-venom therapy in our country.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociencias y Medicina Molecular, Instituto de Estudios Avanzados-IDEA, Apartado 17606, Caracas 1015-A, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Yuyibeth
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: Eucarys
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.forename: Noraida
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zerpa
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parrilla
authors.forename: Caridad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malavé
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000997:Antivenins / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002645:Chickens; D004530:Egg Yolk / Q000276:immunology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006736:Horses; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000276:immunology* / Q000633:toxicity; D012605:Scorpions; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D000997:Antivenins; C016512:IgY; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D012604:Scorpion Venoms
keywords: Anti-venom; Egg yolk antibodies; IgY antibodies; Tityus caripitensis