PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AGAINST BOTHROPSTOXIN-1, A K49 MYOTOXIN

PATRICK J. SPENCER(1)

(1)IPEN/CNEN-SP

Ophidic accidents are a relevant health problem in Brazil, with around 20000 cases reported every year. About 90% of the accidents are caused by snakes belonging to the Bothrops genus. Within this genus, some species present a specific myotoxic component which is involved in the onset of severe local injuries. These myotoxins are not neutralized by the autologous anti-serum. On the other hand the polyvalent antiserum has been reported to be efficient against the myotoxic component. A tool able to discriminate between miotoxic and non-miotoxic venoms would be of great value for the proper treatment of the patients. In the present work, we investigated monoclonal antibodies raised against bothropstoxin-1, a myotoxin from Bothrops jararacussu. The antibodies were investigated by surface plasmon resonance (Biacore) and immunoenzimatic assays. Also, an in vitro myotoxic assay was standardized and used for neutralization tests. Our results indicate that the antibodies are highly specific for myotoxins, enabling the development of a diferential diagnostic kit. Also, the incubation of indeferentiated and diferentiated myoblasts with bothropstoxin indicates that upon maturation, the cells become more sensitive to the toxin,  suggesting the involvment of a receptor.