Pathological and biochemical changes induced in mice after intramuscular injection of venom from newborn specimens of the snake Bothrops asper (Terciopelo)

Abstract

Venom from newborn Bothrops asper snakes has higher lethal, hemorrhagic, edema-forming, proteolytic and defibrinating activities than venom from adult B. asper specimens. Electrophoretic analysis confirmed the variation between these venoms. Intramuscular injection of 100 micrograms of venom from newborn specimens in mice induced defibrination, together with moderate increments of serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, hemoglobin and total proteins. A conspicuous hemorrhage developed in injected muscle rapidly after envenomation, probably due to a drastic alteration in capillaries and larger blood vessels. Other histological alterations included moderate myonecrosis, lung collapse and prominent renal damage, characterized by tubular necrosis and hyalinization. Polyvalent antivenom effectively neutralized lethal, hemorrhagic and indirect hemolytic activities of newborn B. asper venom, although requiring higher antivenom doses than neutralization of venom from adult B. asper.