title: Evaluation of the preclinical efficacy of four antivenoms, distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, to neutralize the venom of the carpet viper, Echis ocellatus, from Mali, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
abstract: Snakebite envenoming causes a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of mortality and sequelae. In the West African savannah, the viperid Echis ocellatus is responsible for the vast majority of bites. In the last decades, several new antivenoms have been introduced for the treatment of these envenomings, although the assessment of their preclinical efficacy against the venom of E. ocellatus has been studied only for some of them. This work analyzed comparatively the ability of four antivenoms (FAV Afrique, EchiTAb G, EchiTAB-Plus-ICP(®), and Inoserp™ Panafricain) to neutralize lethal, hemorrhagic, and in vitro coagulant activities of the venoms of E. ocellatus from Mali, Cameroon, and Nigeria. In addition, an immunoaffinity chromatography antivenomic protocol was used to assess the ability of the four antivenoms to bind to the proteins of these venoms. Results showed that all the antivenoms were effective in the neutralization of the three effects investigated, and were able to immunocapture, completely or partially, the most abundant components in the E. ocellatus venoms from the geographical origins sampled. Our observations also highlighted quantitative differences between antivenoms in their neutralizing and antivenomics profiles, especially regarding neutralization of in vitro coagulant activity, suggesting that different doses of these antivenoms are probably needed for an effective treatment of human envenomings by this species.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Laura V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: dpla@ibv.csic.es.
authors.forename: Davinia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pla
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR MERIT "Mother and Child Facing Tropical Diseases", Cotonou, Benin; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Pharmacie, Avenue de l'Observatoire, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chippaux
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Venómica Estructural y Funcional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: jcalvete@ibv.csic.es.
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Calvete
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. Electronic address: jose.gutierrez@ucr.ac.cr.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000818:Animals; D000997:Antivenins / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010949:Plasma / Q000187:drug effects; D014757:Viper Venoms / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D000997:Antivenins; D014757:Viper Venoms
keywords: Antivenom; Antivenomics; Echis ocellatus; Hemorrhage; Lethality; Neutralization; Procoagulant effect