title: Camelid antivenom development and potential in vivo neutralization of Hottentotta saulcyi scorpion venom.
abstract: Scorpion envenoming is a serious health problem which can cause a variety of clinical toxic effects. Of the many scorpion species native to Iran, Hottentotta saulcyi is important because its venom can produce toxic effects in man. Nowadays, antivenom derived from hyper immune horses is the only effective treatment for sever scorpion stings. Current limitations of immunotherapy urgently require an efficient alternative with high safety, target affinity and more promising venom neutralizing capability. Recently, heavy chain-only antibodies (HC-Abs) found naturally in camelid serum met the above mentioned advantages. In this study, immuno-reactivities of polyclonal antibodies were tested after successful immunization of camel using H. saulcyi scorpion crude venom. The lethal potency of scorpion venom in C57BL/6 mice injected intraperitoneally was determined to be 2.7 mg/kg. These results were followed by the efficient neutralization of lethal activity of H. saulcyi scorpion venom by injection of antivenom and purified IgG fractions into mice intraperitonelly or intravenously, respectively. HC-Ab camelid antivenom could be considered as a useful serotherapeutics instead of present treatment for scorpion envenomation.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Venom & Biotherapeutics Molecules Lab., Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Darvish
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Soltan Ahmad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Venom & Biotherapeutics Molecules Lab., Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Delavar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shahbazzadeh
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Venom & Biotherapeutics Molecules Lab., Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kamran-Pooshang
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Bagheri
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Venom & Biotherapeutics Molecules Lab., Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behdani
authors.affiliation: National Cell Bank of Iran, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: mashokrgozar@pasteur.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shokrgozar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000276:immunology; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D000997:Antivenins / Q000276:immunology*; D002162:Camelus / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D012605:Scorpions / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000997:Antivenins; D012604:Scorpion Venoms
keywords: Antivenom; Heavy chain antibody (HC-Ab); Hottentotta saulcyi; Scorpion