Cross Reactions and Heterological Neutralization of Antivenoms Used in Mexico and Argentina

Cross Reactions and Heterological Neutralization of Antivenoms Used in Mexico and Argentina.

Clement, Herlinda¹; González, Carlos¹; de Roodt, Adolfo²; Litwin, Silvana²; Olvera, Felipe²; and Alagón, Alejandro¹.

¹Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM. Cuernavaca, Mor. 62210, Mexico and ²Instituto Nacional de Producción de Biológicos ANLIS Dr. Carlos G. Malbran, Ministerio de Salud, Argentina.

We have analyzed the immunological cross-reactivity (immunoblot and ELISA) and heterologous neutralization by standard antivenoms produced in Mexico and Argentina. These antivenoms are immunoglobulin F(ab´)2 fragments from horses immunized with: (A) Bothrops asper and Crotalus d. durissus (Antivipmyn®, Mexico); (B) B. alternatus and B. neuwiedii (Bivalent bothropic antivenom, Argentina); and (C) B. alternatus, B. neuwiedii, B. jararaca, and B. jararacussu (Tetravalent bothropic antivenom, Argentina). Venoms used in this study included: B. alternatus, B. ammodytoides, B. jararaca, B. jararacussu, B. moojeni, B. neuwiedii, and C. d. terrificus from Argentina; B. asper, B. nummifer, B. undulatus, C. basiliscus, C. d. durissus, C. scutulatus, and Agkistrodon b. bilineatus from Mexico; Lachesis muta stenophry from Costa Rica; and B. atrox asper from Colombia. Immunoblotting showed a high cross-reactivity of all major protein bands with all the antivenoms (even heterologous) tested. Antivipmyn® gave the highest ELISA titers (after normalization by the amount of protein present in the different antivenoms) against all venoms, even when compared with those of the Argentinean antivenoms against the venoms utilized as immunogens. Antivipmyn´s ELISA titer against C. d. terrificus was high, while those of Bivalent and tetravalent bothropic antivenoms were low. The differences between the titers of both bothropic antivenoms were not significant. Antivipmyn® and Bivalent bothropic antivenoms were able to neutralize the lethal activity (in mice) of the venoms tested. When their neutralization potencies were corrected by the difference in protein amount in the two antivenoms (89.2 and 943 mg per vial in Antivipmyn® and Bivalent, respectively), the Mexican product displayed higher activity against 7 of the 8 assayed venoms (4 Mexican and 4 Argentinean), the only exception being B. alternatus venom.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  08 Oct 2002
• Date of issue
  Dec 2001