Immunome Research
Open Access
ISSN: 1745-7580
+44-77-2385-9429
ISSN: 1745-7580
+44-77-2385-9429
Manuela B Pucca
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Immunome Res
Bites and stings by venomous animals have great medical importance all over the world. In Brazil, accidents caused by snakes, spiders, bees and scorpions can cause severe clinical cases of envenoming. Nowadays, the administration of antivenoms produced in horses is recognized and used as the unique and specific treatment for envenoming. Nevertheless, horse herds� maintenance is costly and the antibodies are heterologous, which can cause anaphylaxis and Serum Sickness. Protein engineering, including Phage Display technique, allows designing novel recombinant antibody fragments which are superior to polyclonal antivenoms. In this sense, our group produced human monoclonal antibody fragments (scFvs), using phage display technology, against toxins and venoms from different venomous animals from Brazil, including the scorpion Tityus serrulatus, the snakes from Bothrops, Crotalus and Lachesis genus and the Africanized bee. Our results demonstrates that we produced high specific and neutralizing antibodies able to inhibit in vitro and in vivo toxic effects of Tityus serrulatus (Serrumab), Bothrops sp., Lachesis muta, Crotalus durissus terrificus and Africanized bee (Afribumabs) toxins and venoms. In conclusion, scFvs are promising candidates for inclusion in a mixture of specific antibodies against venoms and represent an innovative and alternative therapeutic approach to the heterologous antivenoms therapy available today.
Email: manupucca@usp.br