Características bioquímicas y capacidad neutralizante de cuatro antivenenos polivalentes frente a los efectos farmacológicos y enzimáticos del veneno de Bothrops asper y Porthidium nasutum de Antioquia y Chocó

Abstract

Ninety to 95% of the snakebites reported yearly in Colombia are inflicted by Bothrops spp with high mortality and sequelae. Following recommendations of the World Health Organization, the neutralizing ability of four polyvalent antivenoms against several pharmacological and enzymatic effects of Bothrops asper and Porthidium nasutum snake venoms from Antioquia and Chocó, was evaluated. Two of them were of whole IgG (polivalente antibothrópico, anticrotálico, Instituto Nacional de Salud- INS - Colombia; polivalente antibothrópico, anticrotálico, antilachésico, Laboratorios Probiol -Colombia) and two were of F(ab’)2 fragments (polivalente antibothrópico, anticrotálico, Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad Central de Venezuela; polivalente antibothrópico, anticrotálico Antivipmyn®, Instituto Bioclon -México). The lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, myonecrotic, defibrinating and indirect hemolytic effects of the venoms were determined. Then, the experiments of neutralization were performed by preincubating different venom/antivenom ratios at 37 °C during 30 minutes. The polyvalent antivenoms Antivipmyn® from México and INS from Colombia, showed the highest neutralizing ability against all toxic effects of the venoms in this study. Polyvalent antivenom from Probiol had the lowest neutralizing ability and the highest protein concentration. The antivenoms composed of F(ab’)2 fragments had the lowest protein concentration and minor quantities of nonimmunoglobulin proteins by SDS-PAGE.